Stockholm Syndrome
by Key to the Rose-Colored Clock
Summary: Amu Hinamori is in the wrong place at the wrong time. When she's kidnapped by Ikuto, in an effort to protect himself, he inflicts Stockholm Syndrome on her. Even so, love begins to blossom despite the horrific abuse imposed on her and her escape attempts.
1. Chapter 1 Kidnapped

**Hi there, welcome to the first chapter of Stockholm Syndrome! If you're wondering what that is, I would suggest Googling it. This is actually my third story, so i'm still fairly new to this. If you've read it and you don't like it, review it anyways so I know how I can improve.**

**I do not own Shugo Chara.**

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><p><em>Stockholm Sydnrome <em>

_ Chapter 1_

Amu walked out of her school for the last time. Yes, the exact last time. She had just graduated high school and now that it was summer, she was free to do whatever she pleased. It felt good to be 18; a license, a boyfriend, a job, plenty of money, and now that school was over, plenty of time. She would visit the library more, go to lectures at universities, begin planning for college, visit coffee houses to discuss philosophical things with friends, and double the amount of time she spent with friends.

Amu thought that these things were what made adults more adult-like. She _wanted_ to be grown up, but still have the responsibilities of a child. And finally, she was at the best time in her life, summer, after high school. Her life was perfect.

"Hey, Amu!" Kukai called cheerfully, his arms waving in the air trying to catch her attention. She let her backpack dangle on one shoulder and skipped over to him. "Well, Hinamori, what will you be doing over summer?"

"Kukai!" She squeaked, throwing her arms around him in a friendly manner. He hugged her back, but then pushed her away.

"What's with the hug, kid?" He chuckled, though happy to have the attention from her. She frowned that he had pushed her away, but did understand.

"Well, you came to visit me after school! You've been out of high school for a year now. How's college going?" She asked casually as they began walking towards his car. He drove an old 1997 corvette, and though it was old, it still looked very cool to Amu.

"It's good, I guess. It's not easy, and it's not cheap, even with my soccer scholarship. But they say I'm a promising athlete, so maybe that means I have a future. Here's hoping. So, what are your plans for college Amu?" He asked nonchalantly, wanting to shake off any college talk regarding him. The truth was, he wasn't doing very well in his classes that didn't involve sports. Amu's eyes sparkled for a moment, but then became very, very dull.

"So many things, Kukai. I love sports too, but I'm not as coordinated or athletic as you. I mean, with a little training, maybe, but other than that, I don't think I could really do anything sport-like in college. Then there's art… art has always been a passion of mine. I'm fairly good at it, and I'm great with words and photography and painting, but maybe that's not for me either. Who can build a career on art? Oh, right, my parents. But, still. Then there's cooking and cleaning. I could be a chef, or a house-keeper… but if I'm going to do something with cooking and cleaning, why not just be a stay-at-home-mom and raise a big family?" She rambled.

"I'm kind of regretting asking you now…" Kukai laughed. "But kid, you've got my support on whatever you want to do." He said happily, giving her a big thumbs up. Amu nodded and then realized they were in front of his car.

"Hey, is this a new paint-job?" said Amu, excited for the new color. It was a glossy red that really made the car pop.

"Yep! Glad you noticed! Hey, do you need a ride home?" He blushed a little bit, afraid that she might misunderstand. He knew she was in a very steady relationship with Tadase Hotori. They were relatively good friends, but Kukai was always afraid he would hurt Amu.

"No thanks. Tadase and I are going out to dinner and I need to get ready, so Rima is taking me to her house. I'm just waiting for her to appear…" she replied, looking through the crowds of overly excited teens, ready for their summer to begin. Finally Amu spotted Rima in the same way she had spotted Kukai. Rima ran over and hugged Kukai just as Amu had.

"Kukai!" She breathed, squeezing him tighter than Amu could have ever managed. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" She said, squeezing him a bit tighter after every word. Kukai collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

"Rima, you must have grown like 10 feet!" He laughed, noticing how she was now the same size as Amu.

"I've grown about 2 inches since the last time you saw me. That's hardly 10 feet. Though, my hair is now 3 feet long." She muttered the last part. "And if anyone's changed, it's Amu. Look, her hair is now a bit darker, but still quite pink. And now it's _way_ longer, halfway down her back! And she's tall too. And don't even get me STARTED on her boobs. I mean, come on, she's a C-cup and getting bigger! By the time she's out of college, she'll be a freaking D-cup!" Rima laughed, half making fun and half complimenting.

"RIMA!" Amu shouted, her face completely red with embarrassment

"It's the truth, though." She replied calmly. Or, calm in comparison to Amu. Kukai tried not to notice, but everything Rima said was true. Amu was becoming a beautiful young woman, and yes, her boobs _were_ as big as Rima described. They were huge. Kukai shook his head, trying to get the image out of his mind. Amu was like his little sister; he didn't have feelings for her anymore.

"Well, this was fun." Kukai said conclusively. "I wanted to see you guys on your last day of school, but I see you have things to do, so I'll be on my way. But, you have to promise we'll hang out this summer, okay?" The girls agreed to meet up with him eventually and then headed back to Rima's house to get ready for the date with Tadase.

"Okay, this one?" Rima suggested, showing her friends a snazzy, one-shoulder red dress. They had arrived at Rima's house an hour earlier, but were just beginning to get ready for the date. Amu grimaced.

"That's a little bit much for a trip to the museum, don't you think?" replied Amu. Rima didn't like the dress being denied, but continued digging through her closet.

"Okay, this for SURE!" She sang, showing Amu a pair of tight-black short-shorts and a low-cut tank top.

"I don't want him to think I'm a slut!" Amu hissed, throwing the outfit into the trash. Rima didn't bother retrieving it; it really was a trampy outfit. "Don't you have anything more casual, but still sophisticated. And don't you dare pull out a pinstripe suit!" Rima thought for a moment and then threw herself into the pile of clothing that was her closet.

"Capris and a purple dress shirt?" Rima tried. Amu nodded, grabbed the outfit, and ran into the bathroom to change and do her make-up.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"T-Tadase…" Amu whispered. Tadase was so close to her, they could have been kissing if she had just tilted her head.

"Amu, this is going to be the best date of our life. Agreed?" He murmured, twisting her hair in-between his fingers. She could have melted right there.

"Absolutely. Let's go inside, now." She said, pulling her boyfriend of a year and two months into the monstrous museum in Tokyo. First they went to the fossils, then to the 'different countries'. In Europe, Amu noticed a very strange looking man in the corner of the room. It appeared he was observing a very thought-provoking painting from Venice, Italy, but something about him was suspicious.

_I'm probably just being prejudice because of his hair…_ Amu thought to herself. The man, who could hardly be much older than Amu herself, had medium length blue hair that danced across his face. He wore black sweats and a dark blue sweater that made him appear 10 times heavier than he probably was. He also had ridiculous rectangle shaped glasses that weren't even real! But, if the security guards didn't have a problem with him, Amu didn't see the reason for her to have one. Next, Amu and Tadase found themselves in an empty room. They were surrounded by displays of gems and priceless jewels of all sizes. Tadase looked at Amu longingly, fighting off his devils. But, being a boy, he gave in. He took a subtle step towards Amu, and then pressed his face right in front of hers.

"We're alone…" he whispered. Amu could feel his breath. He waited a few seconds and then kissed her gently, just to test that she was alright with it.

"Tadase…" she whispered back. "This isn't the place… there are security guards everywhere."

"Alright, I understand." He muttered, pulling away disappointedly.

"How about we come back here right before closing… when we're completely alone…" she said seductively. With that out of the way, and something to look forward to, they left to explore the rest of the three-story museum. Amu noticed the man with blue hair only one other time, and she didn't pay much attention to him. Tadase led her to displays of paintings, statues, famous literary works, inventions and culture from Japan thousands of years ago.

Finally the time came for the museum to close. A speaker announced that the Edo-Tokyo Museum would be closing for the day in 15 minutes. It was already more than three fourths empty as it was, and Amu could hear people leaving from the second floor. 'Lets go' her eyes seemed to say to Tadase. They walked to the room with all the jewels, hand in hand. Just as they were about to kiss though:

"My phone… sorry." Tadase said apologetically. He was planning to put it on vibrate, but he noticed the caller ID read "mom", so he left the room to go talk to her. Amu looked around the room to try to pass the time. A particular gem in the corner of the room caught her eye, so she went to look at it.

On the very bottom of the display case was a plaque, and it looked important, so Amu silently crouched down to read it. It was very hard to read, however, and took her a few minutes to decipher the words. When she next stood up, she saw the man with blue hair. He was standing next to the museum's most valuable artifact, a rare stone worth millions (in American currency).

He pulled a pocket-knife from his pocket and began cutting a square in the carpet, revealing a box with a tool in it that he used on the glass case covering the jewel. In seconds he was in the glass case and carefully pulled out the jewel. Amu barely had time to blink. With the gem in his hand, he turned around to dash out with a successful smile on his face when he noticed Amu. She stared at him, then the jewel, and then him again.

"Crap." He growled. He had not expected someone to be hiding. But he didn't think she was a security guard, she was just a girl in the wrong place at the wrong time. "And I really wanted to do this heist without killing anyone. It really soils the record, don't you think?" Amu took a step back, but behind her was only wall.

"I didn't see anything!" She tried, putting her arms in the air as if she were under arrest.

"You saw _everything_." The man spat, angry that she would try to fix the situation. He really was busted. "I saw you several times around the museum… didn't I? You were with that blond boy who I would have thought was gay if you weren't with him. You would be able to describe my every detail." He pondered over the idea, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag.

The man reached his hand in and pulled out a sort of powder, then stepped closer to Amu. "Tell me, young girl, does my hand smell like chloroform?" He asked, laughing at his own joke. Amu tried to escape, but she was in a corner and he was too fast. The thief grabbed her unconscious body, left her purse on the ground, and then went about getting her body out of the museum unnoticed. He decided on running as fast as possible (he was going to be seen by the security cameras, girl or not) and out the back door.


	2. Chapter 2 Meeting Ikuto Again

**Hey guys! Thank you for reviewing chapter 1! I really appreciate it! :)  
>Here is chapter 2, where the story pretty much starts. Please do review, I'd love it if I got feedback, even if you're anonymous! Here are my first 3 reviewers:<strong>

**1. Shiroi Aisu**

**2. Kukamu 98**

**3. XxSarbear-chanxX**

**Thanks for reviewing! ^_^**

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><p>Amu's P.o.V.<p>

I sat up, my hand clutching my head. For some reason I had a pounding headache and my whole body ached. Once I realized I had been kidnapped from the museum, I also noticed where I was. It was a sort of dungeon type room, but with a piano and a drum-set. There were no windows and only one door in the corner of the room. The floor was wooden and the walls were some sort of… carpet? I stood up, my hand still on my head, and walked over to the door. My balance was wobbly, but I managed to get there eventually.

"Crap, it's locked." I hissed. I had no idea where I was, why I was there, or how I got there. Wasn't I just with Tadase? "Oh, Tadase!" I had left him at the museum! What would he think happened? Surely he wouldn't be mad at me for being kidnapped!

After a half hour of brooding and cursing the man who had kidnapped me, I noticed the room was more than a piano and a drum-set; that was just all I had noticed. There was a small table in the corner with a bowl of fresh fruit and two wooden chairs. There was also an old couch that looked like it was found in the dump. Just then, the door-knob twisted and the man walked in. I ran over to him, ready to beat the crap out of him and escape, but I was much weaker than I thought, and he barely had to touch me to restrain me.

"WHO…ARE….YOU?" I screamed as I tried to push him, kick him, punch him, or anything that would stun him for a moment.

"The Cat Burglar." He responded plainly, as if he was telling his first name to a new friend.

"_The_ Cat Burglar? That insane thief that only steals one object per heist, it's always the most valuable object, and no one notices him come in or leave?" I had certainly heard of him on the news, but I didn't think he was a kidnapper, or a murderer! Would he murder me? "And why am I here?"

"It's a long story." He sighed, sitting down on the ground cross-legged. "Don't bother trying to escape, by the way. The door only opens from the outside." He added, noticing how I was eyeing the door, planning when to take off. Just to be sure, I tried the door, and as he said, it was closed and locked. I decided to sit down next to him to hear what he had to say.

"Well I think _I_ deserve to know!" I told him, not sure what kind of a criminal he was. Shouldn't he be beating and raping me right now?

"Fine, whatever, I'll tell you. I usually just steal one thing and I never stay long. And no one has ever seen me, minus security cameras. When you saw me… I panicked. I don't want to get caught, I'm not an idiot, so I had to do something. Like I said, killing people really messes with your records, and I don't want to be a murderer, so I decided to just take you home. I figured I could think of something to do with you once there wasn't so much tension in the room." He looked like he was slightly mad at himself.

"Then send me HOME!" She yelled, standing up. "Let's forget this whole thing ever happened! I have no idea who you are or where we are, and anything I tell them about your description they could have guessed by the security cameras!"

"Oh, you're right, but I'm not keeping you here because you know what I look like. Part of my genius in thieving is no one knows how I get the tools in to do it. And… you saw me cut a whole in the carpet. I had already placed the tools I would need right where I would need them. You would tell the police you saw that, and then it's over." He explained. "Anyway, you're my captive, shall we say? And might I say a very attractive captive." He added, standing up and taking a step towards me.

He put his arms around me and pulled me closer as I tried to thrash away. He kissed my cheek and sat me back down.

"I've got some things to do… there's food on the table in that corner." He said as he pointed to the table I had noticed earlier. "You've been asleep for six hours, you know. I was watching the news, and that boy you were with, Tadase Hotori, is already searching frantically for you. Don't worry, you'll be safe here from his homosexual urges." He teased.

"HE'S NOT GAY!" I screamed as he stepped out of my small little prison. I noticed that on the other side of the door was a staircase; so I'm in the basement? Then I started thinking about how the cat burglar guy said the door didn't open from the inside. So someone was waiting, and possibly listening, outside the door. So he's not alone? Who is it then? A girlfriend, a wife, a _boyfriend_(?), a friend, a sibling, a parent? That can't be good. Someone else to torture me.

Even though I was extremely pissed and really upset that this had happened to me, it didn't distract me from my hunger. With every minute that passed, that bowl of fruit looked so much more delicious. I told myself not to eat it, because it could have been drugged, but it just looked so good. Bananas, mangos, apples, oranges, peaches, pairs, kiwis, guavas… I could have exploded with excitement. But no berries of any kind, what did that mean?

As I gorged myself with fruit, a few things hit me all at once. For starters, I was in some kind of a sound-proof basement used for practicing music. Not quite a recording studio, but along those lines. Next, I realized that I was, in fact, a captive to the thief. As a captive, he could beat me, rape me, starve me, kill me, and keep me here as long as he wants… what of those would he do? It sounded like he wasn't too thrilled with kidnapping me.

"Oh, so now I'm a burden on you?" I yelled aloud for some reason. I was alone, so it didn't make sense to yell. But thinking to myself again, I realized that if he wasn't happy with keeping me prisoner, he'd probably release me sooner than later. It took all of my logical thinking, but I was sure I'd be released in less than three days. Was that a fair statement to make?

-Time Skip-

I woke up the next morning with a sharp pain in my neck and back, but another than that, it turned out my whole kidnapping situation was a dream. I saw the comfort of my room around me as awoke, and I suddenly felt very happy. Unfortunately, I was just half-asleep and when my eyes focused, I realized I was still in that dank little room he had left me in. I tried to figure out what time it could be.

The museum closed at 4, so he kidnapped me about that time, and I woke from that chloroform (he'd rot in jail an extra three years for that if I had anything to say about it!) 6 hours later, so he came in around ten-thirty. If I had fallen asleep, it was probably some time in the morning. Maybe eight or nine?

Now that I was officially awake and my mind was functioning properly, I began noticing important things in my appearance. For example, my hair was a mop, my breath smelled like road-kill and my clothes were starting to smell weird too.

"I need a bath." I sighed. How much longer would that jerk keep me in here? And I had so many questions to ask him! Like, how old is he, what's his real name, when he's going to let me go, just the regular things a sane person would ask. It turned out I didn't have to stay much longer, because the door opened almost immediately after I had spoken. A tall, angry looking blond walked through the door and pulled a door-stopper from her pocket to keep the door open.

"You, get over here." She commanded dryly. Despite her angry demeanor, she was a very beautiful girl, probably about my age. I obeyed, glad to be away from the couch that had been my bed that night. Once I was standing next to her, she pulled out a pair of handcuffs and handcuffed my wrist to hers. "Don't say a word, and be grateful you little brat." I thought that was a bit harsh, but I didn't say anything.

She pulled me out of the room to the other side of the door where there was a tall staircase that led up to another door.

"Hah! I am in a basement! I knew it!" She gave me a death glare that said "be quiet" to put it nicely, and walked up the stairs, pulling me with her. We went through the door at the top of the staircase which revealed a small hall with 4 doors on both sides and one more at the end of that hall. We walked all the way through and as she opened the door at the end I couldn't help but gasp. It. Was. Gorgeous!

It opened into a room the size of a house! There wasn't a second story for about 60 ft, it was all open. Enormous windows let in enough light to illuminate the entire room and the grandest grand-stair case was right in front of me. In total there were 30 other doors in the room, and so much white! White furniture, white tile, white curtains… everything was like a snowy wonderland! She brought me up the stairs and into another hall, then another, then another, and finally, into a white door with little faeries carved into it.

The room was astonishing compared to the little basement room. It was double the size, and like the large room below, completely white. A king-sized canopy bed sat in the center of the room. On the left were two couches and an arm chair, then a balcony. On the right was a bathroom the size of a small bedroom, a vanity, several dressers and armoires, and a desk. I couldn't believe that she was bringing me into this room. It was too good to be true.

"There are a few dresses, play clothes and other various clothing in the closets and dressers. All of the water works and so does the air-conditioning." She said stiffly, releasing me from the handcuffs and letting me roam free.

"What am I, a hostage or a princess?" I asked breathlessly, not believing this to be real.

"Well, Ikuto figures you'll be here a while, and if they do catch him, he doesn't want you to have been tortured." She responded.

"Ikuto? So, that's his name." I said to myself.

"Oops, he didn't want me to tell you that." She said with false remorse. Clearly she was mad at him, or me, or both of us. "Anyway, wear something appropriate for tonight."

"What do you mean?" I asked, now no longer thinking of the luxury I would be permitted to live in. She smiled at me very mockingly.

"Ikuto will be staying in your room, tonight." She laughed as she walked out the door.


	3. Chapter 3 Escape Attempt!

**Hi everyone, though few of you there may be :)! As you've guessed, this is chapter 3. I'm so excited for it! To those of you who are just jumping in right now and are reading these 3 chapters at once, welcome, and please review! ^_^ I got three reviews by the time I had 'debuted' chapter 2, so here's the other reviews I got!  
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**4. Addimison2  
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><p><em>Stockholm Syndrome<br>_

_Chapter 3_

Amu's P.o.V.

I continued staring at the door several minutes after the girl had left. My body was turned towards the luxurious bathroom, but my face was still watching the door, praying she'd come back in and tell me how she was just kidding. She never did.

_Ikuto will be staying in your room, tonight. _The girl's words echoed in my head as I tried to figure out exactly what they meant.

"So, I won't be spared rape." I muttered to myself. I needed to escape, and fast. How long would he keep me here? How long would he rape me? How often? I didn't dare hang around and find out. First I tried the door to see if it was like the door in the last room I was in. Naturally, it opened from the outside too. The bathroom didn't seem to follow this law, I noticed.

I decided right then that escape, while necessary, would have to wait. How could I possibly think of a plan when I didn't even know my surroundings? I needed to investigate the room more. A found that the room was much more posh than I had expected. In a closed cabinet in front of my bed was a flat-screen TV, a DVD player, an endless supply of movies, thousands of channels, a half-dozen game systems, an endless supply for games _for_ the game systems, books, magazines, and anything else I might need to be entertained.

"How long does he think I'm going to be here?" I hissed. If he had supplied me with this much entertainment, he could have been planning to keep me here for months! In the bathroom were towels, bathrobes, hair accessories and anything else I might need. In a closet with dozens of dresses and expensive shirts I found extra sheets, blankets, and pillow-cases. This gave me an idea.

I needed to escape, and I didn't have much time. The best time to break-out would be that exact moment, but I didn't really have the means to escape. Or did I? Out on the balcony was the perfect way to escape. I ran out there, glad to know that the door actually worked from my side, and I looked down. THAT IDIOT! He put me at _least_ 40 ft above the ground. How could I do it? Then I realized that I had already learned how to.

In all the movies, they tie together sheets and blankets and lower themselves down. Couldn't I do that? I certainly knew how to tie a knot. That stupid Ikuto-guy thought he was making me more comfortable with the abundance of luxuries, but instead he was allowing me to break out. I stripped the bed and emptied out the closet. If necessary, I would use some of the lingerie I found in my drawers (ewww). Once I had tied them all together, I walked out on the balcony. I was so high up, and there wasn't a single tree I could lower myself onto. There was literally nothing!

"That dirty bastar- language, Amu, language." I reminded myself. I had enough to lower me most of the way down, but it would still be a 10 foot drop. That was a terrifying thought. I tied the long 'rope' I had made that resembled Rapunzel's hair around the balcony wall and prepared to jump. As I considered chickening out, the door opened, and Blondie walked in with a tray of food. She looked around the room for me, noticed me outside, and dropped the tray. Food and drinks stained the floor while plates and bowls shattered. The girl took off out of the room, probably going to get Cat Boy. I decided that it was now or never, quickly pulled on the 'rope' to test its strength, and jumped over the ledge. I didn't even bother lowering myself down slowly; I just jumped and prayed it didn't snap, making me end up like the dishes.

Sure enough, once it had run out of extra length, I bounced a bit, but the rope held strong. Now it was just a matter of jumping. Every second that I stayed on that pathetic excuse for a rope I became more and more fearful of jumping. Would I break an arm or a leg, and then be stuck with Ikuto forever? How would I escape if I was injured? After about thirty seconds, I swallowed my fear and released my death-grip on the rope. I tried desperately to land on my feet, but I ended up plummeting towards on the ground with my back face-down.

As I braced myself for the shattering of my bones, I found myself landing abruptly in someone's arms. It was Ikuto! He let out a relieved sigh and then a snicker.

"Silly girl." He teased. Then he sat down cross-legged on the ground, pulling me down with him. I tried to get out of his lap but he was too strong with his muscular arms around me. "No, no, stay with papa."

"H-how did… you know… that I was escaping?" I screeched as I strained myself to get out of his grip. He merely laughed and kissed my cheek.

"It wasn't Utau, I promise that. I happened to be walking out of my study when I saw you hanging from that rope you made. Very clever, girl. So I rushed out; right in time, it seems, because I caught you." Ugh, now he felt like he was my savior or something. He was the one that made me do it!

"SHUT UP!" Was all I could say. I didn't really have a witty response on my mind.

"It's a shame… I really wanted you to get fresh air every now and then. Now it looks like you won't be able to stay in a room with a balcony." He whispered, genuinely sad. I gulped; was he going to put me back in that ugly little basement? "Oh well. I guess I'll just have to lock the door the way I lock the others." His hand slithered down my back and he grabbed my butt. I tried to slap him, but I couldn't turn my body right.

"Get away from me!" I hissed.

"That's not what you'll be saying tonight…" he whispered back. My face turned four different shades of red. He surely wasn't planning on _that_ still?

"Let. Me. Go."

"Why. Should. I?" He asked back. Why does this guy like messing with me? I turned around; ready to chew him out, when I realized that was useless. I stared into his eyes for a minute and then pushed myself on top of him. When he was on the ground, I smiled at him playfully, and just as he thought I was about to kiss him, I jumped up and began running as far form him as possible.

He laughed at his foolishness for a moment and then stood up slowly, wiping the dirt off of himself. I was already a good fifty feet away from him, and getting further every second. I expected the feeling that came with being out-of-shape and running, that hideous pain that made you want to just drop onto the floor and never move again, but it never came. The adrenaline inside of me kept me going, and it felt like I could run for days without once becoming tired.

My feet flew beneath me, but despite my enthusiasm, it quickly hit me that I had absolutely no idea where I was going. I figured I would just run and run until I was out of his home, but I didn't even know if I was in the same country! Surely when I had been knocked out Ikuto could have found a way to fly me out of Japan. It was possible, but very unlikely. I turned to see if Ikuto was still sitting down when two arms wrapped around me.

"WHAT?" I screamed. How could he have possibly caught up with me?

"You're such a girl sometimes." He muttered. This time he didn't pull me onto the ground again, he just grabbed my hand and held it in his, then began walking again. The blond girl (who I think he called 'Utau' earlier) came running. Once in front of us, she stopped for a minute to catch her breath, and then turned to me.

"YOU IDIOT!" She said as she panted. I laughed at her stupidity. "Ikuto, what's her name? I want to know the name of the girl I'm about to slap!" She hissed.

"He doesn't know. None of you do." I said happily, knowing that I had something to withhold from them.

"Amu Hinamori." He answered Utau, completely ignoring my previous statement. How did you get that information?

"H-how do you know?"

"That's what gay-boy said. The one from the museum. He called you Amu Hinamori, and said 'oh please help me find her!' like fifty times. It was pretty pathetic." Ikuto scoffed, but I couldn't help blushing.

"He really said that?" I bit my lip as I thought about Tadase gathering a team of FBI agents. They would storm the house and find Ikuto in my bedroom, knock him unconscious, and Tadase would carry me out bride-style to his car, where he would whisk me away to safety. Ikuto did not like my daydreaming though.

"Whatever, people say things all the time. Don't get worked up over one sentence." He said, dismissing Tadase's words with a wave of his hand that wasn't holding mine. "Now, let's get you back to your room." He pulled me roughly and began walking towards the mansion again. I should have tried to get away, but I was hungry, emotionally exhausted, and Tadase was on my mind, so I let him bring me to my room and lock me in, but not without using this chance to observe my surroundings, of course. When we came into the tallest double-door I had ever seen (his front door) we were at the front of that enormous room with the fabulous stair case. He pulled me up the stairs despite the fact that I wasn't really lifting my feet as we ascended the stairs, through three different halls, and then to the white door with the little faeries carved onto it.

"Why don't you just let me go home?" I demanded as I allowed myself to end my reverie and focus on escaping.

"You know too much. I can't let you leave now. It's too late." _I'm intrigued by you._

"You won't be able to keep me here forever, you know!" I screamed. He did not even wince at my words. Had he already realized that?

"I am more aware of the situation than you think, Amu." He said quietly but sternly. What was he planning? What was he thinking? "And while you may have evaded my antics for this morning, everything is still as planned for the evening." He shot me a mischievous smile and then pushed me into my room, leaving the door closed and very much locked behind him.


	4. Chapter 4 Visiting Hours

**DeaNihptus here; welcome to chapter 4! I am so excited for this story, but by the time I had finished writing this chapter, I was a bit... upset. By the end, it felt a little dark and depressing, but... this is what happened to Amu that day. I do not own Shugo Chara, and reviews are MUCH appreciated. Go ahead and flame; a review is a review. Here is my tribute to those who have reviewed since chapter 3:**

**9. XxxPuppylove12xxX**

**10. xXxSamXChanXx**

**11. Addimison2**

**12. Addimison2**

**13. xXDeadlyNekoXx**

**14. DarkChoclat**

**15. xXChirushiXx**

**16. Ikata-chan**

**Thanks for reviewing, guys! ^_^  
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><p>Amu's P.o.V.<p>

I wept in my prison, on my bed, for hours after that. There was no possible way for me to escape, was there? I would just have to endure the abuse until I was rescued or he decided to free me. I had but precious hours of virginity left… they would disappear before me as the day went on. Something had to be done, but I had so few options. I decided to look at things through clear eyes. Or as clear eyes as I could manage.

What would he need to rape me? I considered many things; a bed, skimpy clothing, music, candles… but in truth, he needed none of these things. He just needed me. Just me. I began hyperventilating, and then I became claustrophobic. The whole room seemed to become smaller and smaller as I gasped for air. Nothing came. Would I faint, awake, and find that my whole day had slipped from my fingers and night had fallen? No. That would not happen to me.

"Get a hold of yourself!" I screeched, standing up and taking deep, even breaths. I really regretted having the balcony locked, because I needed fresh air right then. It was almost as if he was in my head! Did he plan all of this? The blond girl he called Utau came in with another tray of food. This time, I noticed, all the cups, plates, and bowls were plastic. Yes, he was just messing with my head. "The jerk…" I muttered under my breath.

"Just don't do anything stupid to ruin tonight." She said flatly, not looking me in the eye. That was fine, I didn't like her either. She walked over to a little while table in the corner of the room with two small white chairs. Why hadn't I noticed that before? Was my vision going blurry, or was I just not paying as much attention? She dropped the tray on the table and gestured impatiently for me to sit down. She took the seat opposite of me and began loading food onto her plate.

"U-Utau…" I began, not sure if I should be addressing her like that. She didn't acknowledge me, but I knew she heard me, so I took it as a 'continue'. "I… I didn't know you'd be eating w-with me." That wasn't what I meant to say! I meant to ask her why the heck she was eating MY food, but I didn't think that would be appropriate.

"Well I am." She said with a mouth full of scrambled eggs and chocolate milk.

"W-why?" Was there a way to say it politely? She shot me a death glare, wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin as if she were a duchess, and then turned to me.

"Because _Ikuto_," She said his name with resentment, or perhaps hatred, "thinks _you_ should eat better than _me_." After answering my question, she promptly returned to eating my breakfast.

"Utau…" I was hesitant to use her name. Did she notice? "Who prepares the food?"

"Prepare? Food? Hah." She laughed at me for some reason. I stared indignantly at her, as if I was missing some joke.

"What?" I demanded. Surely I should know why she was making me seem like a fool.

"Well the servants, of course! Actually, that's not entirely true either. I'm not going to tell you all about this mansion, because I think Ikuto doesn't want me to, but I will explain enough for you to shut up." I nodded, ignoring the insult, urging her to continue.

"No one has ever seen my brother, you stupid girl. They know only he has blue hair. Many people have blue hair! He is safe in my home, er, his home. I purchased it for him, but as far as anyone is concerned, I am the owner. No one bothers us here, because no one knows the connection between Ikuto and me." She explained and she poked at her eggs, as if deciding she no longer wished to eat them. Had I made her lose her appetite?

"But… servants?" I said hesitantly. Wouldn't they recognize Ikuto and turn him in? Utau could tell what I was thinking.

"You may not recognize me, Amu Hinamori, but I am certainly recognized by the rest of the world. When I used some of my vast fortune to purchase this home, no one suspected it as anything less than a get-away home. All servants who work here are paid exceedingly well and required to sign something that does not permit them to speak about anything in this house. As far as they know, you're our honored guest and you are not to be bothered." So they had thought this out.

"Why do you help your brother? Thieving, kidnapping… why would you assist him in something like that?" I said it in an innocent tone, but I was definitely horrified to know she played a part in something like that. She dropped her hands to her lap and stared at them, as if she was about to cry. Then, in a nearly inaudible whisper, she said:

"Because I love him." Tears began falling down her cheek, but she brushed them and continued eating. I decided that it wasn't really the right time to talk about something like that, so I sat down and began eating.

I piled eggs, bacon, grits, hash browns, toast, ham, and anything else I could find onto my plate. Utau watched me stuff my face with a sickening look. Clearly she didn't understand how hungry I was. As I laughed at my own personal, but lame, joke, I also considered other stupid things. Like complaining to Ikuto that I had a headache, and pushing him away going 'not tonight dear'. Something told me that wouldn't work though.

I also began wondering just what her relationship to Ikuto was. His wife? No, she was my age. Maybe a year older. His girlfriend? That was more possible. She could have even been his fiancé. Once I had finished eating, Utau stood up and walked to the bathroom. She pointed at it as if reminding me that I could use it, and walked away. Suddenly, I realized why. I. STUNK!

I dropped my clothing on the ground, stared at the enormous bathroom, and tried to decide where to start. The Jacuzzi tub seemed interesting, so I stepped in and turned on the water and the jets. It was heaven on earth. That's all I can say, it was just perfect. There were three different kinds of soaps, shampoos and conditioners. I chose the lavender of each of them and relaxed in the tub as my troubles and stink disappeared.

Once I was clean, dry, and my hair was softer than ever before, I was tempted to just enjoy my captivity. This was better than any life I would ever get to live, and all I had to do was put up with some rape and possibly beatings. It seemed fair. But then again, I wanted to go home to my nice bed, my friends, my family, my Tadase…

"That jerk!" I screamed, aware that no one would hear me. "He's making me not try to escape by tempting me with this room!" Amu did not like the idea of staying somewhere and giving in to her kidnapper. She needed to plan. She then remembered something Ikuto had said: _That's what gay-boy said. The one from the museum. He called you Amu Hinamori, and said 'oh please help me find her!' like fifty times. It was pretty pathetic._

Ikuto had to have heard that somewhere, so he probably heard it on the news! I had a TV in my room, so I quickly turned it on and searched for the first News Channel I could find. Sure enough, I was there. Had they been talking about me all day? It seemed like it.

"Amu Hinamori, 15, was kidnapped from Edo Tokyo Museum yesterday at around 4:30 PM. Her boyfriend, Tadase Hotori, left the room for a few minutes to answer a phone call, and when he returned, Amu was gone." Said the reporter. Then she turned to Tadase, which made Amu's heart skip a beat.

"I just went to answer a phone call from my mother… and when I came back… she was gone. At first I thought she had maybe left the room, but her purse was in the corner of a room, completely abandoned. She wouldn't just drop her money, phone, and all of her other possessions and take off." Tadase said. The camera returned to the reporter.

"Security cameras later showed that she _had_ in fact been kidnapped, and by none other than the infamous thief, The Cat Burglar. The Cat Burglar is a thief who steals only one item per heist, and has never been seen in person. By the time anyone knows something was stolen, he is long gone. He is always in disguise and, until now, has never done anything but steal. There is a two million dollar reward to anyone who can locate Amu and this man." I turned off the TV and fell onto my bed. I blinked a few times, stared at the ceiling, and smiled slightly. They were looking for me, there was a huge reward, and they knew.

"It won't be long…" I whispered with a new energy. They would find me, they would _save_ me! I spent the remainder of my day enjoying myself. Video games, books, movies, and television were among the things I used to be entertained. I also played with my hair and, in a fit of anger, ripped all of the sexy clothes in my dressers. Not that something like that would stop him.

I waited patiently for dinner, but it never came. Five o'clock, six o'clock, seven o'clock, and eight o'clock passed without anyone coming into my room, delivering food. I was just about to start banging on the door when I heard it opening, and it hit me. Ikuto was coming tonight.

In complete terror, I dashed under the bed and hid to the best of my ability. In he walked (I could tell by the shoes). He looked around, laughed to himself, and closed the door. I stayed in my spot, confident he wouldn't find me. I felt like such a toddler. Of course, the first place he looks is under the bed. He smiled widely at me and licked his lips. Next thing I knew, I was pulled out from under the bed.

"Hiding from me. That was unexpected." He said, clearly joking. I wanted to attack him, but I was afraid what he might do. It didn't seem like I had a chance of getting out at this moment. I decided to let what was going to happen, happen.

"Being kidnapped. That was unexpected." I said back. He seemed to be amused but did not say anything about it.

"You're not wearing anything… sexy." He whispered in my ear. I bit my lower lip, hoping desperately I didn't say or do something stupid. After a few moments, I mustered up the courage to shake my head no.

"That's fine… you don't have to wear _anything_." He pushed me onto the enormous bed and held my arms down. I struggled to be free from his grip but failed miserably. He smiled, lowered his head, and kissed me. For ten minutes I had to endure his lips pressed against mine, his tongue in my mouth, his hands feeling my breasts and my butt; but to my great surprise, he never did _rape_ me. He did plenty of things to me that I hadn't allowed Tadase to do, things that I was saving for Tadase, but he never took either of our pants off, and so I felt like I had been spared. I was very grateful, but I didn't know how to show it.

"Thank you." I whispered to him, kissing him passionately on the lips. "Thank you…"

**(A/N: I feel bad that I am adding this; I feel like I am insulting your intelligence, but in case you don't understand, I'll explain it now. Stockholm Syndrome is a term used to describe a ****paradoxical ****psychological**** phenomenon wherein ****hostages**** express ****empathy**** and have positive feelings towards their captors; sometimes to the point of defending them. These feelings are irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of ****abuse**** from their captors as an act of kindness.)**


	5. Chapter 5 Another Escape Ends Badly

**Finally, chapter 5 is DONE! I had a few distractions (Talking to people, going onto other websites, writing non-fan-fiction books, etc.) which prevented me from paying complete attention to this story, but I think this chapter came together quite well. Just a few announcements, though.**

**I will be going out of town for a few weeks, so the soonest I can update this story is August 20th. I know this doesn't really bother any of you because It's just a story, but I just thought I'd tell you so you don't think "Oh no, DeaNihptus died!" or something. XD**

**I'd like to make a small clarification. In chapter one, I described Amu as an 18 year old girl with large breasts. I just want to assure you that I didn't do this because of the whole "When Amu grows up she is tall, thin, and has giant boobies!" idea that seems to happen in EVERY STORY I READ! Grrr. Oh how it makes me angry. There is only one reason Amu has large breasts in this story and this reason is:**

**RAPE! Of _course_Ikuto is going to be more attracted to Amu if she has giant boobs. He will find it harder to resist her, which is a key element of the story. Think about it: If he rapes her, he loses any chance of earning her love, but by not raping her he's holding back some very strong urges and feelings. So, in conclusion, I didn't make Amu have large boobs in this story because that makes her pretty or something, I did it because of the conflict it causes. :D**

**Okay, with that out of the way, here is my Tribute To The Reviewers:**

**17. crazyrawrx3**

**18. DarkChoclat**

**19. Addimison2**

**20. Ikata-Chan**

**21. xXChirushiXx (- I happen to know for sure this person is an excellent writer)**

**22. Ninja-bunny08**

**23. Unluckyjinx (- She has provided me with much entertainment from her stories)**

**24. XxSmexxi-MuffinsxX**

** Okay, that's all, thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the chapter! ^^  
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><p>Third Person<p>

When morning came, Amu found herself in Ikuto's arms. He was fast asleep and his quiet snoring resembled a purring kitten. A monster like him as a kitten? It didn't seem to fit, but that's the way he looked. Amu was so happy that he had spared her that she hadn't argued when he wanted to sleep in her bed for the night. She also didn't object when he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close to his chest. She should have, but she didn't. She managed to open his arms enough to escape his hold and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Once finished, the bath tub looked more and more perfect every second. The only problem was if she took a bath, there was no doubt Ikuto would join her, and then she wouldn't be spared after all.

"The bath will have to wait." Amu sighed. Out of no where came Ikuto's arms. He appeared behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and licked her ear. She screeched, surprised, and prayed he didn't want to stay much longer. She was still very grateful, but she knew he was a disgusting thief and kidnapper, so she didn't want to get attached to him.

"Good morning, my little captive." He said, his morning voice deeper than his usual. Amu nodded but did not speak. She really just wanted him to leave. He released her and started the bath. She gulped and considered trying to lock him in the bathroom. While he was setting up the perfect bath she would lock him in and wait patiently for Utau to come running. When she ran to the bathroom door to free Ikuto, Amu would leave the room silently and lock them both in. From there she merely had to run and run until she found a phone or a way to get outside. It was a good plan; she just needed to be quick about it. Ikuto turned from the bath and smiled at her planning face.

"What are you doing?" Amu asked, wondering why he was leaving the bathroom.

"You look like you could use a bath. I've got to get back to my work I was doing up until last night. Breakfast will be waiting on the table by the time you are finished with your bath." Ikuto told her as he walked out of the room. Amu was certainly shocked, but she didn't waste any time getting into the enormous bubble-filled bath tub. She sunk slowly into the water, allowing the hot water to take her into a world of happiness, a world far away from the one she was in at that moment.

As she daydreamed, she thought about how upset she was that she didn't get to try that escape attempt. It seemed like it might have worked. She could be home, with her family and Tadase.

_Tadase. _She thought to herself, the sound of his name in her head enough to make her smile. _If we date for another two years, we could get married… I could live the rest of my life with Tadase, as Amu Hotori. _She knew that was what she wanted, but in order to do that, she needed to escape. Again she was reminded of how wonderful her plan had seemed, but she needed something she could do right then. Like a gust of wind, it came to her: a revised version of her plan. Someone would be coming in with her breakfast while she was in the bath-tub. They wouldn't be expecting her to be in the room, so they wouldn't be on guard for her trying to escape. If she hid close to the door, when the person put her food on the other side of the room where the table was, she could dash out the door! Quickly running from the tub and dressing herself, she thought up the details. She would leave the water running a little bit so it sounded like she was still in there, but it didn't overflow. Then she closed the bathroom door, another attempt to convince whoever was coming she was still bathing, and hid under a desk.

It didn't take long, because in about 10 minutes, an American maid came in with a tray filled with food and put a small wedge in the door to keep in open. Amu's stomach grumbled despite her attempts to hush it; she hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. Of course, there was no guarantee that she would be able to find a phone or escape the mansion, and getting caught might be putting her meals, nice room, and other freedoms in jeopardy, but she was sure it was worth it. When the maid was half-way to the little table with her back turned to where Amu was hiding, Amu quietly jumped up and ran for the door. She pulled it open, kicked the wedge away and darted out the door, though pausing to make sure the door closed completely.

If the maid had a cell-phone, Amu probably had another 60 seconds before the whole mansion was looking for her. She didn't know anything about the house, but she did remember from her previous escape that she needed to go down 3 halls and down a flight of stairs before she would be in that grand entrance room. But with so many doors, so many halls, and so little time, could she really make it?

It just so happened that that particular maid was equipped with a cell-phone, and for that exact reason. Ikuto had made sure that anyone who went into Amu's room had a way of quickly getting in touch with the rest of the house in case Amu was escaping, trying to kill herself, had found a way to contact people, or any other potentially escape-worthy antics. The maid did not see Amu escape until it was too late and she was already locked in. She placed the tray on the table, dashed to the door, pulled the handle, pushed the door, and banged on it frantically. After 2 minutes of trying to get someone's attention, she remembered her cell-phone and called Ikuto.

"Yes?" He answered absentmindedly, still working on what he had been doing last night. The maid stuttered a bit as she tried to get the words to come out. "Come on, I don't have all day! Do you have something to say? Is it Amu?" He was clearly irritated, but when he realized the number was from the cell-phone a maid gets when she checks on Amu, he gave the maid full attention.

"Y-yes, sir! I-I'm… I'm afraid she has left the room... I know it was your wish that your guest stay in her room… but she has left… I'm terribly sorry, sir." She said, hoping Ikuto wouldn't fire her. For a few moments there was nothing but silence.

"I see. Thank you, Mary. And I suppose you're stuck in her room? I'll send someone up in a few minutes to free you." Ikuto kept his voice flat and calm to ensure that the maid did not become suspicious. "That pesky door, as I warned you, can lock on its own sometimes. Our guest said she didn't mind staying in that room, so I allowed her to, but I am going to have to get that door fixed… so it doesn't lock on its own anymore." He explained further to douse any suspicions that may have arose. Content with her answer, the maid apologized a few more times and then hung up. She wasn't about to let this excellent situation go to waste, so she dug into Amu's food, turned on the TV, and lounged on the bed, enjoying her few minutes of her break.

Meanwhile, Amu had gone down two halls that were in no way familiar to her. She felt as though she was trapped in a maze and had no chance of escaping. Was she just a rat, searching in a frenzy for the cheese, or her freedom, at the end?

According to her watch, five minutes had passed since she left her room. She hadn't seen or heard anyone searching for her and she was getting closer every second to that third hallway that would lead her to the entrance room. Finally she found it. The entrance room that she had longed so desperately to see again opened in front of her, letting in enough light to blind someone. She stopped in her tracks for a moment to let her eyes adjust and then dashed madly down the stairs. No one was following her, no one was looking for her, and she merely had to walk out the door. Without savoring the feeling, she took two steps out the front door, smelled the fresh air, and burst into a run down the walkway. At the end she found herself in a forest. There was a dirt road going in three directions, each with tire tracks, but Amu didn't have time to figure out which one to take.

If she ran into anybody from the mansion in a car, she wouldn't be able to out-run them. If she took a path that only led her deeper into a forest until she was completely lost, she didn't have any kind of a back-up plan. Amu tried her best to remember how the forest had looked from her window, but she hadn't really paid it much attention. Fearing she only had seconds before someone spotted her, she decided on the path going to the left and ran as fast as her aching legs could carry her.

"I can't… run on the path… or they'll see me…" she panted, urging herself to stop running for a second and catch her breath. Muffled voices sounded in the distance. Amu, filled with terror, hid herself underneath a bush. Utau walked by, carefully scanning for pink. Amu was glad that she had covered her hair with her shirt.

A few more people passed by Amu, all searching for her desperately, probably thinking their jobs were on the line. Ikuto had told them that this particular guest was terrified of being alone and that she got lost easily, so they would need to look for her. Once no one had passed for a good half-hour, Amu began walking again. Her stomach rumbled as noon approached. She hadn't eaten in 24 hours and had barely anything to drink. As she walked, the trees no longer had any individuality; they were all blurs that each looked exactly the same in every way. She had gone in circles a few times to confuse anyone who might have been following her, but now she had absolutely no idea where she was.

Thankfully, the canopy of branches shaded her from the sun, but she was not any more comfortable because of it. After 2 hours had passed since she left the mansion, she allowed herself to sit down and cry. Amu just couldn't understand why all of it was happening to _her_. Why had she gone with Tadase to the museum? That was the source of her problems. She should have gone with Kukai and blown Tadase off, but she didn't and now she regretted it. But that wasn't the only thing she regretted. She regretted not using the balcony to escape at a different time. She regretted not planning more before she tried to escape this second time. But most of all, she regretted not trying to get closer to Ikuto. If she had gotten close, he might have felt pity on her and released her. Now he knew he could never trust her.

Amu cried and cried, letting her anger and sadness flow out from her in the form of tears as it slowly became darker.

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><p><strong>Cliffhangers... oh how I hate them. But Amu getting lost just couldn't be a one chapter thing. Her utter stupidity and lack of planning has to have consequences, and this is it. Poor Amu-chan is hungry... but every time you review, she gets a cookie. I will be gone for 17 days: If Amu doesn't get a cookie every day I don't update, she might starve! Make sure to review or she could die before I get a chance to update...<strong>

_Wow, I'm sorry, I just had to add this. Up there, that little additional note... I'm sorry about it. XD I don't beg for reviews, it's just kind of late and I'm kind of tired and I get weird when I'm tired, so that was really just a way to amuse me (and possibly you), so don't take it seriously, I'm not begging for reviews! Ha, I'm an idiot._


	6. Chapter 6 An Epithet

**Finally, chapter 6 is complete! I had to buckle down and write, because part of me was saying "You took such a long vacation, suck it up and write!" so I'm glad to have finally updated for you guys. I promise not to disappear again, because it really is terrible when authors do that, and I did sort of leave it on a cliffhanger. :/**

**Alright, thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed. It means a lot to me. I actually got 16 reviews after putting out 1 chapter, which is a pretty nice thing to see after getting home from vacation, and I'm glad everyone liked the chapter. Actually, even if you didn't like the chapter, I still stirred up emotions in you, which is something writers strive to do, so don't be afraid to flame or whatever. :)**

**I also want to add as a quick note to everyone that down below in the 'reviewers' section, just because I don't comment next to your name doesn't mean I don't appreciate your review! It really doesn't!**

**I'm also getting a lot of "Ikuto don't rape her D:" Reviews. You guys will just have to wait to find out what I'll do. :D**  
><strong>According to the rules, I CAN make him rape her on this rated T book if I don't describe it. . Fear my awesome power.<strong>

**REVIWERS:**

**25. Addimison2 (I've writter your name several times in this book, so here's your shout-out! YOU ROCK!)**

**26. Kacy-X-Kisshu-4evr**

**27. xXChirushiXx**

**28. Whispers in the Forest**

**29. ThePandaHat**

**30. Ninja-bunny08 (Amu appreciated the cookie, but as it was virtual, it did not sustain her ;D)**

**31. Nightingale mistress**

**32. SailorVmoon1311815 (Haha, your comment still cracks me up!)**

**33. OliviaLively**

**34. OliviaLively**

**35. OliviaLively**

**36. OliviaLively**

**37. OliviaLively (Thank you for your kind words and many reviews on the chapters at once. Ha ha, everyone, check this girl out, her writing looks legit)**

**38. Kitty.0**

**39. Alice Bezarius**

**40. Alice Bezarius**

**Thanks for reviewing, now enjoy the chapter!**

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><p><em>Amu's P.o.V.<em>

Another hour passed as I cried. And cried. And cried. It was the most emotional night of my life. Why had I dropped my purse at the museum? Why hadn't I worn jeans so that I could have had my phone in my pocket? Even if all I could do was text Tadase "I'm alive, keep looking!" "Mansion in the middle of no where!" "Blue hair!" or something along those lines, it would have helped so much. The police had no way to know where I was, they had no leads, and no help. I could die before anyone finds me, which only provoked more crying.

_You're not a baby, Amu! Stop crying! _Something said inside of me. That's right, I wasn't a lost child, I was a lost adult! If I couldn't stop myself from crying, how could I expect to escape? With this new surge of confidence, I stood up, wiped the tears from my face and anywhere else they had fallen, and tried to think of a plan. I had been wandering for so long now, I hadn't eaten or drank anything in a very long time, and I had absolutely no idea where I was.

Running aimlessly hadn't accomplished anything either, and I had no form of GPS or communication with the rest of the world. But surely, if I continued to walk, I would have to arrive somewhere. I didn't really have any way to determine which direction I was going, as it was about noon, but I figured I'd just walk in a straight line to my left.

"Amu?" A voice whispered. But it wasn't really a whisper, was it? It took me a minute, but I eventually realized it wasn't a whisper, it was a yell from very far away. They were looking for me again…

"I'm he-" I yelled back, stopping myself. Without knowing it, I was trying to tell them I was here! I would surely be caught now! Like my mind had done, my legs took off on their own and I began running faster than I thought was possible for someone who felt this crappy. Tall trees branches cascaded above me, covering the sky, and letting in hardly any sunlight.

Thick roots threatened to trip me as I ran away from the voices. I tried my hardest, and ended up succeeding in not falling even once. I thought briefly of Kukai, who had trained with me and helped me learn to run fast. He was a good guy, a real sweet heart. And he was always so nice…

"What are you thinking Amu? You idiot, this isn't the time!" I scorned myself, causing me to lose my focus. I ran into an enormous tree and scraped my face against it before falling to the ground. The people must have heard me running, talking to myself, and panting, because I heard them approach. _Don't faint, don't faint! This isn't the time!_ I told myself. But I felt so weak and my body was begging me to give in and return to comfortable beds, regular meals, and other essential needs for survival. My vision was getting blurry, but I saw the distinct blue and blonde hair atop fuzzy blurs approach me.

"You idiot…" The blonde muttered, though I barely heard her. I was scooped up into a man's arms, but the man was not Ikuto. This man had dusty-brown hair and, as far as I could tell, wasn't smiling. My escape must have inconvenienced his work schedule. I wanted to strike him, or jump from his arms and resume my running, but I knew I didn't have the energy or the will power. Besides, my survival instincts told me that I had a better chance with Ikuto then not, under these particular circumstances. Ikuto and Utau were talking quietly to each other, and no matter how hard I strained my ears, I couldn't pick up a word they were saying. That was probably their intention. I drifted to sleep in the man's arms, dreading the oncoming future, but expecting happy dreams of peace and being content. I was wrong.

Nightmares plagued my meager amount of rest, but my body was too tired to even bother waking me up during them. Tadase and Kukai were always so close to me… almost close enough to touch, but my arm would not touch them. It spun around in circles, extending and stretching to a point that should have made me sick, had it not been a dream. Behind me was Ikuto, half of him covered in black, the other covered in blue. In the middle, the two halves seemed to try to merge, but it would not happen. With each step I made towards him, his two sides flowed into each other a bit more, but Kukai and Tadase were shrinking.

Just as Ikuto was about to blend together completely and greet me with an exasperated smile, Tadase and Kukai disappeared from existence. I ran to them, or to where they had been standing, and Ikuto screamed in pain. His halves pushed from each other like rubber bands and no matter how close I got to him, they would not begin to merge again. When I woke, I considered my dream. Had it in fact been only a dream? Was my subconscious trying to tell me something? What exactly did it mean?

"An epithet…" I whispered as my head-rush faded. In high-school, I had learned the meaning of an epithet, and I felt it applied to Ikuto, the filthy thief, and possibly my dream. Not wishing to dwell on such unhappy thoughts so soon after awaking, and being hungry from going so long without food, I stood and walked over to my dining table. When I bumped into a piano and fell to the ground, slamming my elbow into the hard floor, I yelped with pain and finally realized where I was. I was, once again, in the basement.

Ikuto's P.o.V.

I sat quietly at my desk, continuing my ongoing work. It seemed to never end. Constant writing, hours of research online, phone-call after phone-call... why had my life become so boring? The girl with pink floated into my mind. She was somewhere in the basement, probably still sleeping, and dreaming of 'Tadase and Kukai'. She must have muttered their name three times before we put her back down there. A surge of jealousy blew through me. But was I jealous of how she felt for them, or the fact that she could be in the public eye, make friends, and live her life? That was something I had given up when I became the 'Cat Burglar'. I shook my head disapprovingly at the thought of my epithet. When I had first decided to be a professional thief that title seemed to fit my personality. It seemed clever, even. But now that I had grown a bit, it was truly an embarrassing name to be known as.

I honestly thought that my judgment had matured because of this ridiculous decision, but as my thoughts returned to the captive in my home, I no longer agreed with myself. Now I was fixated on her again. What if she wakes? Will she notice the food on the table next to her bed? Will she have a panic attack? What if she tries to take her own life? Without proper supervision, this girl's death could be inevitable, and it would be my fault. Her body, lying limp on the floor, mocking me, taunting me…

"Utau? Send someone to check on Amu." I whispered frantically into my cell phone, thankful that Utau had answered so quickly.

"She's fine; I just looked at her 10 minutes ago. She was on the ground crying." Utau answered as if this didn't faze her at all. First jealousy, now guilt? These emotional feelings were nothing compared to the physical pains of prison for the rest of my life, of this I was sure, but still, it hurt knowing that s_he _hurt. Did that make any sense to anyone but me? I doubt I would have any sympathizers.

"Has she at least eaten?" Silence, and then:

"Why do you care?"

"Because she's a human being!" I snapped. Utau sighed.

"Yeah, she's eaten a few of the fruits, but she hasn't stopped crying. I'm looking at her right now. She's sitting on the floor, sobbing, surrounded in a puddle of her own tears. It's pretty pathetic." Ikuto hung up, too angry to yell at her. Amu was crying. She hadn't cried once in his home, and he constantly had people checking in on her. He didn't want to leave her in the basement again, but modifications had to be made to her room before she could be allowed to go in there again.

_She probably thinks this is her punishment for trying to escape… _I realized. But she couldn't be taken from the basement until her room was finished. There needed to be cameras to monitor her, more locks, and other ways to keep her in. Surely this would only increase my sentence in the case of getting caught, but for now, it was necessary to avoid that.

Within a few hours her room was complete. I told the house to be vigilant, the celebrity was on medication to keep her from freaking out over getting lost that my own personal doctor had subscribed for her, and she might do some crazy things. Or, that's what I told the servants. I wanted to be the one to personally escort her to her room, because I felt like it was the humane thing to do. And I secretly wanted to see how she was doing. Yes, I was concerned, but I wouldn't admit it to anyone but myself.

Finally the time came to fetch Amu. I was so excited to be away from my work that my urge to see Amu paled in comparison. When I was finally downstairs, the puddle of tears Utau had described was nothing compared to what I saw. She was strewn on the ground, too tired to cry, too tired to adjust herself in a more comfortable way. I opened the door, to which I received no acknowledgment or response, and picked her up in my arms. She made a small cry as I touched the large gash on her forehead and the bruise on her elbow. Was this an accident? Had it happened in the forest? Or… was this an attempt to harm herself?

"I'm sorry…" she murmured. "I won't try to escape again." She buried her head in my chest as I carried her up the stairs. I wanted to believe she truly felt this way, and I wanted to believe that this was the start of a beautiful romance, but only two words really came to mind after that event that really explained everything she said and did. Stockholm Syndrome.


	7. Chapter 7 The Truths of Victims

**Hey everybody! Chapter 7 is out right now, but I'm not too happy. This was a hard chapter to write because it portrays Ikuto as he really is: A kidnapper. Also, I'm sorry to update so soon. The sooner I update, the worse the quality of a chapter is. Also, I'd like to point out a few mistakes to you guys. In the previous chapters, for about 3 sentences, sometimes I switch P.o.V. It's very embarrassing to go back and read those mistakes, so please forgive me. Also, Amu does NOT know that Ikuto and Utau are siblings (another mistake I made a few chapters ago). She's noticing just now how similar they are, so be patient.**

**Amazing reviewers:**

**41. xXMidnightNekoXx**

**42. Alice Bezarius (- a wonderful writer)**

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**45. Mrs. Flamer (- for some _real_ writing skills, I would suggest checking out her stories.)**

**46. Ninja-Bunny08 **

**47. Addimison2**

**48. Kitty.0 (- You thought she was scared LAST chapter? Behold; the true horrors of being a kidnapping victim)**

**49. Laylaenchantix101 (- Thank you so much for the compliment. It makes me very happy to know you enjoyed the chapter)**

**Thank you to everyone for the kind words you often write in your reviews. I am going to work very hard to ensure I actually _deserve_ those good reviews. Also, I _do_ check out everyone who reviews books, believe it or not, and I often review under an anonymous name.**

**I'm sorry, I hate reading pointless Authors Notes too, but I'd also like to add that I do honestly feel this is the worst chapter of this book I've ever written. Mainly because, as I was reading previous chapters, I noticed that it just isn't accurate. So, upon doing double the research on Stockholm Syndrome (I could write a 4 page paper on it now...) I've realized how unrealistic this is. I always planned on making a chapter like this, but this one is harsher than I would have done previously. So when reading, do remember, this is nothing compared to what happens to actual kidnapping victims, and be thankful that you aren't one. **

**Sorry for all that pointlessness. Try to enjoy the chapter.**

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><p>Amu's P.o.V.<p>

I woke at four in the morning, exhausted, but refreshed. My cheek was covered in crusty drool, and my pillow was drenched. My sleep must have been a very heavy, because I doubt I moved at all. I remembered Ikuto carrying me into my room and laying me gently on the bed, and then, nothing. I wasn't plagued with nightmares either. My dreams were very plain, and very quiet. Or, the ones I remembered were. Not remembering your dreams meant they were good dreams, right? I didn't really care, because I was noticeably more cheerful.

After bathing in my enormous bath-tub for the first time, or maybe the second, I must have forgotten, I put on a fluffy bathrobe and walked out into my room. Suddenly my prison was feeling like a hotel. Like… like a forced vacation. There were smiley faces everywhere! I was just so happy! I ate my breakfast which was waiting for me on the table, with almost an inviting appearance. Everything was so bright and sunshiny!

Something about it was all wrong though. Why was everything so happy? Why was I feeling so… calm? Then it hit me. He drugged me. He must have drugged me somehow. Why else would I be so happy in such a ridiculous situation? Even after realizing it, I was still happy in a loopy way. Why had he done that? No… he hadn't raped me while I was unconscious. That was something I should be able to notice… right? Shouldn't there be something to say "something happened while you slept" going off in my body?

Now these thoughts were making me want to cry, but no tears came. I was just as jolly. In a fit of rage I pounded my fists against the doors that so inhumanely locked me in this room, refusing to stop until I was acknowledged. No one came to the door for 15 minutes. When I was still ignored and still just as happy, I became afraid. Would drugging me become a regular thing now? I screamed violently, begging for attention, but no one satisfied my needs. So I screamed more, and much louder. Within a few minutes I heard worried whispers outside the door, but still, no one spoke to me, or tried to soothe me, or calm me. Why wasn't Ikuto here yet? Shouldn't my captor come see what is going on? I frantically scratched my nails against the door, ripping some nails off, and pleaded for someone to come in.

Yes, it was four in the morning, but could anyone sleep through my tortured screams? Finally the door opened. Utau ran in, pushed me to the ground, and pinned my arms. Now I was laughing so hard that I could barely breathe. Utau slapped me, but I still laughed.

"What is your problem?" She hissed, slapping me again. What was that going to accomplish besides making my face hurt?

"I! Can't! Heh heh stop! Ha ha ha lau- ha ha -ghing!" I tried my best to keep my voice calm, but the laughing wouldn't stop. Utau slapped me again, the third time in 30 seconds, but I couldn't stop.

"SHUT UP!" She screamed, now furious at me.

"It's YOUR fault I can't stop laughing!" I said extremely fast so that my laughing didn't interrupt any of the words. Utau just stared at me in a confused way. "You drugged me!" My words seemed to attack her like knives. A look of realization appeared in her eyes as she pushed herself off of me. She helped me into my bed and turned on the TV, then sat with me. The laughing gradually died down as I became distracted, and by the time we had watched 2 movies, I wasn't unnaturally happy either. Finally, when I was normal again, Utau mustered the courage to speak up.

"I-I'm sorry. The drugs weren't supposed to do that…" I didn't acknowledge her. She had drugged me, and I was furious, embarrassed, and confused. Also, I didn't like the idea of becoming close with the woman who would soon spend the rest of her life in jail. She became red in the face when I didn't answer her. "You little brat, talk to me!" I remained silent. "You don't understand ANYTHING! Ikuto was terrified you would try to kill yourself! He saw the gash on your forehead, and the bruise on your elbow, and I can see your bleeding fingers right now! He didn't want you to kill yourself or hurt yourself any more, so he had me give you some drugs to keep you happy! Don't you get it? He did it out of concern!"

"You're an idiot." I said, my temper flailing and ready to lash out at Utau. But I held it in only because I knew being calm would make her angrier than me freaking out. She stared at me indignantly, not sure what to say to that. I pointed to my forehead. "I ran into a tree in the forest, trying to escape _you_." Next, I shifted my position on the bed so that she could see my elbow. "I got this little pain in the butt because I woke up disoriented and confused and ended up running into that piano in the basement. As for my nails, your stupid 'happy pills' are the cause for it. I was afraid, felt unnaturally happy, and no one would come to the door."

"Oh." Was all she could say.

"Why don't you just let me free? I won't say anything! I don't want to die here…" I whispered the last part. Wouldn't they eventually have to kill me?

"Well, we were _going_ to. Did you notice how no maids came into the room before that escape attempt off the balcony? We were keeping everyone out so that no one saw you. If we let you free now, someone from this house will recognize your face on TV and we'll be caught." I didn't believe what Utau was saying. Could it be _my_ fault that I won't be able to go home? My escape attempt… is now going to prevent my escape? The irony isn't funny in any way.

"B-but my face is already all over the TV! How can you possibly stop them now and not later?" These stupid jerks weren't making any sense.

"You let Ikuto and me worry about how we are keeping that away from them." I didn't want to talk to Utau anymore. She had angered me so much. How could she possibly be so terrible to me? Was she angry that I was in her life? How could she possibly hate me for something her brother did? If I had it my way, I wouldn't be here. We should be agreeing with each other! After the movies, she left me alone, like she had so many times before. It was now about 9 AM. I wasn't hungry at all, and I had already watched 2 movies.

What was there to do? I had video games, sure, but wasn't I supposed to be a mature adult? Was it acceptable for an 18 year old to spend the day playing video games? It didn't seem like it, so I settled for reading. None of the books particularly caught my interest, so I went through the magazines instead. Celebrity gossip, clothing adds, quizzes, tips for getting boys/girls, and plenty of other little articles should have kept my interest, but I was too anxious. I needed to see Ikuto.

"Why?" I asked myself aloud, comfortable with the current silence in the room. _Because he's nice to me_. I told myself. He didn't hit me like Utau did. He cared for me. He would hold me against his chest… and he forgave me every time I tried to escape… and as long as I would behave, he wouldn't kill me. I just had to stay good, and not make another escape attempt until I've planned a bit more and I might just get out of this stupid thing alive.

There had to be some way to contact the people in this house besides having a panic attack and clawing at the door. I did not want to repeat that little episode again, anyways. As if listening to my thoughts, a short, dark-skinned maid entered the room, carefully closing the door. How would she get out, though? It was at that moment I noticed all the changes in my room.

A camera was perched over my bed at an angle only allowing it to see my bed. Another camera was pointed towards the door, monitoring who came in and who came out. That would indefinitely make my escape harder. There were no cameras in the bathroom, but if there had been any windows in the bathroom, I think that might not be the case.

There was a lock on my side of the door that permitted anyone with a key to open it. This could be used to my advantage. It was a curse because now the maids wouldn't leave the door propped open when coming into my room, but a blessing because now stealing the key would permit me to leave without any alarms going off. If I was just careful, my escape could be in a few days.

The maid came in with a platter filled with snacks and put them on the table in the corner of the room. She smiled and stared at me for a few minutes, like a bellhop waiting for their tip.

"Can I help you?" I said with an agitated voice. Her face remained excited, as if she hadn't notice the anger in my tone.

"May I have an autograph?" She asked with a heavy Arabic accent. I blinked a few times, not believing my ears. Utau had told me they made the employees think I was a celebrity, but surely she couldn't recognize me as a famous person. It was preposterous! Of course, opportunity is known to come in many different forms. With my autograph, should the police come looking here, how could they not know I was held captive here? I took the piece of paper she was holding, grabbed a pen from the desk, and plastered a fake smile on my face.

"And who am I making this out to?" I inquired pleasantly. I had always wanted to say that…

"Noor. Noor Dashti." She replied, hardly able to control her excitement and keep her voice down.

"Miss Noor Dashti, you are amazing! Work hard and succeed! Lots of love, Amu Hinamori." Handing her the paper back, Noor smiled and bowed several times to show her gratitude. _Interesting… she must honestly have no idea who I am. She must not think I'm a celebrity she knows of, just one who's autograph she can sell. _This was an interesting development. Befriending Noor could result in freedom, at some point. Yes, Noor could keep me alive. Intervening on my behalf with Ikuto, helping me break out, anything was possible. You just got to 'know somebody'. And Noor was my somebody.

"Um, Noor?" I said hesitantly, not wanting to risk this possible friendship. She smiled at me and waited for me to speak again. "Could you send Ikuto in? I'd like to see him." Kind, sweet Ikuto. He would be good to me, of this I was sure. Noor nodded and scurried from the room, eager to appease me. An hour later (to my great frustration…) Ikuto came in. I bit my lip and smiled at him.

"You called?" He said coldly. That was a surprise, but I didn't mind. I gestured for him to sit on the couch with me. He walked over, stared at me and frowned. "Go get me a bag of chips." I wasn't sure what to think, so I just walked to the table and brought back some chips. He opened the bag, ate quietly, and didn't offer me one. Feeling a bit offended, I sat down next to him and waited for him to be finished. When he was done, I grabbed his hand with mine and squeezed it.

"What the heck?" He pulled away from me, anger evident from his tone. What had I done? I threw myself at him to hug him but he pushed me away and I fell on the floor. I didn't even bother getting up. I just stayed on the ground and cried as he stared at me with dark, silent eyes. As he turned to leave, I finally found the courage to stand up and grab his shoulder, but he slapped me. He _slapped _me. I touched my reddened cheek cautiously. It stung terribly, but I wouldn't cry again. Not until I was alone.

After striking my face, he pressed his lips forcefully against mine, locking my body against his with his arms. I fought to escape him, but he merely took it as incentive to go further. Next thing I knew, he had stripped me of _all_ of my clothing and had pinned me on the bed. I waited breathlessly, no longer fighting, not moving a muscle, as I prepared myself to be raped. When I didn't speak, he slapped the other side of my cheek hard. I screamed in pain, tears flowing from my eyes, which was apparently what he was looking for. Just as he was about to officially rape me, he stopped, completely frozen. He looked into my terrified eyes, stood, put his clothes back on, and left my room. I wasn't sure what to think, so I ran into the bathroom, locked myself in, and cried until I fell asleep in the tub.


	8. Chapter 8 Battling Emotions Fight Dirty

**Ah yes, the long awaited (Ha, I laugh at that) chapter is finally out. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy reading your reviews. Let's take a moment to thank those people who cared enough to review:**

50. Darkchoclat

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53. pyonchi (- The reaction you gave me to Chapter 7 was hilarious. Bravo.)

54. pyonchi

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56. Ninja-Bunny08

57. Whispers In The Forest

58. Whispers In The Forest (- Indeed, I did notice. :3)

59. OliviaLively (- Ah yes, it may appear so, but the beauty of the written book is that everything ties together and makes sense in the end.)

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Of course, just because you didn't review doesn't mean I don't love you. Reading is all it takes for me to want to hug you, and you don't even have to like the chapter! Aren't I just a doll?

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><p>Amu's P.o.V.<p>

Sleeping in an empty tub can prove to be bad for your back. Upon awaking, I was sore everywhere, especially my face and lower back. My face was stained with water which led me to the conclusion that I had cried in my sleep. No dreams came to mind, no matter how hard I tried to think of any, and I was grateful for that. After all, what if my dreams had anything to do with _him_? I didn't know what to think of him anymore.

He had been so kind to me and out of no where he changed. Had I done something wrong? Maybe trying escaping was what did it? I didn't care to mediate on it any longer, so I started the bath. Staring blankly as it filled with balmy water, my cheeks began to sting with a sharp, stabbing pain, causing me to cry again.

Finally, when the bath was ready, I lowered myself in and let my mind wander. That was a mistake though, because as my mind wandered, I constantly thought of Ikuto and his abusive behavior. I relied on him for everything; food, safety, shelter, and life. To distract myself, I turned the jets on and allowed them to gently massage my back. Surely after this relaxing bath I wouldn't be so emotional?

At that moment I realized I had stepped into the bath with all of my clothes on. Cursing under my breath, I undressed and left the clothes to dry in the sink. My stomach grumbled fiercely, but I didn't dare leave the sanctuary that was the bathroom. When my bath was done and I was pruned throughout my body, I drained the water and stepped out of the tub.

Wrapping myself in a thick cotton towel, I tried to remember how long it had been since I was kidnapped. Maybe a week? It felt like an eternity. I had heard dozens of people say the expression that relates a short amount of time to an eternity, but now, I see that they weren't exaggerating. I desperately needed human contact outside of a maid, an abusive captor, and his… whatever Utau was to him. They seemed so alike, and they had such interesting chemistry, but I wasn't sure what they were in terms of relationship. I remembered her saying something about being a celebrity, so I racked my brain trying to remember her. Why hadn't I paid more attention to those celebrity gossip magazines?

Another realization of the day: I HAD MAGAZINES! Yes, that was something I had noticed in my room a few days ago. Surely, if she was as big as she claimed, she'd be in the magazine somewhere. But I was terrified of leaving the bathroom. It was irrational because there was no one out there, but I was safe in here. Finally I concluded that I couldn't live my life in the bathroom, and I cautiously opened the door and stepped into my bedroom. A sense of familiarity surrounded me as I was taken up in the joys of being alone. Yes, I had wanted human contact, but no one was in here, and I was safe.

I made my way over to the small corner table where breakfast, or maybe lunch or dinner, was waiting for me. The food was delicious for a simple, plain meal. I hadn't expected something I hated so much in the past, fish and fried eggs, to be so delicious. It must have had something to do with the psychology of the situation. After gorging myself, I walked over to my drawers, changed into some pajamas and crawled into my bed. It wasn't until after I had snuggled into the warm blankets that I felt a hand on my arm.

Looking over, I saw Ikuto, sleeping soundly. I screamed without thinking, and in a sad attempt to mask my scream, I covered my mouth. Ikuto shot up from the bed, looked around, saw me, and then fell back onto the bed, clutching his head. After a few minutes had passed of him lying motionless on my bed, I poked him to see what was going on. He blinked a few times, clearly disoriented, and then smiled.

"Good morning." He whispered, as his eyes stared intently into mine. I jumped back immediately and as far away from him as possible. He looked confused for a moment, and then his face fell. "Oh. Right."

"W-why are you here?" I managed after a few minutes of silence passed between us. All the color drained from his cheeks.

"To apologize, I suppose. I've been ignoring you, haven't I? My work is very demanding though." He assured me. I wanted to cry, I really did, but I feared what might happen if I appeared vulnerable in his eyes.

"I don't want you near me… keep your work by your side, not me." I said quickly and without prior thought. If he could have looked more upset, I'm sure he would have, but he had quite reached his limit.

"Yes, I deserve that. I wanted to explain what happened last night, but I can't. I just can't. So, how about I make it up to you?" He reached his hand out to touch mine, but I cringed from him, moving to the other end of the bed. I didn't dare get off the bed though, in case he would punish me. Realizing what was going on and how he was completely at fault for it, he did something I hardly expected; he smiled and returned to sleeping in my bed. I blinked a few times as I stared at his sleeping body. How had he done that so quickly? Why hadn't he made a final attempt to console me? What was going through his mind?

I didn't dwell on those thoughts long though, and I took this as an opportunity. Realizing my chance to sleep in a comfortable bed had just died, I walked to my closet, threw on a pair of crimson shorts and a light, pallid top and found the magazines. Once I had grabbed all the magazines I could hold, I sat down on the couch and began to search them, looking for anyone with the name Utau.

To no avail, of course. Surely something that might help me potentially escape, or provide me with any information about my captors, would not be permitted in my room. And if it had been in there, it would have been taken out after that escape attempt when they remodeled my room. Needing human contact (though not from Ikuto), I turned on the TV and found the most local news station. I watched for forty-five minutes and never heard a word about me. Maybe I was old news, or maybe I had just tuned in at the wrong time. It didn't matter to me, because either way, I wouldn't get to see Tadase, Kukai, my friends, or my family pleading desperately into the microphone for help in finding me. Resisting tears for the second or perhaps third time that morning, I wandered aimlessly around my room until I fell asleep on my couch, clutching a pillow to my chest.

Sleeping may seem like just closing your eyes and then re-opening them in a few minutes, but hours go past without you ever realizing it. That was the case with my nap, as I soon found myself being gently woken by Ikuto, with a much stronger light than when I had last been awake shining into my eyes. Ikuto was now dressed in casual clothes and was smiling at me.

"I know how to make it up to you." He said happily, helping me up from the couch. I was too tired to remember how terrified I was of him, so I went willingly. He stopped outside my door with my following close behind him.

"What's going on?" I murmured, unsure if speaking too loud would result in punishment.

"We're going for a walk through the beautiful gardens on this estate." He replied, gently taking my hand and unlocking the door.

_Going outside? Doesn't he see the risk in that? Will he be off guard? _I considered these things as he walked me through the halls, a firm grasp on my hand. He knew I wouldn't run, and if I did, it wouldn't be inside where I had no way to go anywhere. We both knew that if I would try to escape, it would be outside. But after that episode last night, I was too terrified to leave Ikuto's side ever again.

When we were outside I saw a full view of his backyard, if it could be called that. For miles, it seemed, trees had been cleared in favor of neatly cut bushes, hundreds of flower patches, marble statures and magnificent fountains. My mouth dropped, something I didn't think could possibly happen in real life, as he brought me down into this Heaven on Earth.

On closer examination, I noticed wrought iron gates locking me in. In the time it would take to climb one, Ikuto could have the whole house after me, so there was no chance in escaping. We walked down a dirt path that twisted through the garden, allowing you to see every beautiful feature and every astounding view. His firm grip on my hand gradually loosened into more of a couple's way of holding hands.

Like a child on Christmas, I smiled and pointed at anything with the ability to catch my attention, and of course, the outstandingly beautiful animals were one of those things. Half a dozen different types of birds sat on outreaching branches and cawed at us, asking for food or attention. Ikuto pointed out a few deer and a Japanese Crane that I gawked at as if I had never seen either of them before in my life.

We must have walked for two and a half hours because we left at 10 AM and when we got back, it was lunch time. We would have stayed longer in the garden, but hideous rain clouds appeared from no where, their size and color threatening to ruin our whole day's fun. Of course the garden was enormous, probably a mile or two, so by the time we had returned to the house it was pouring madly on us. He brought me inside, helped me dry off with a towel a maid brought us, and pulled me to a small room in the corner of the mansion. We played board and card games like old friends, we laughed, we ate a feast fit for royalty, and then took another nap. Ikuto was quite fond of naps, I then learned. It was probably because of his late hours he spent working all night, but I didn't mind, because sleeping in the safety of his arms was wonderful.

_I'm quite fond of him now._ I thought to myself, humming a simple tune in my head as I watched his even, steady breathing. _Or, perhaps, _I reconsidered, _I'm clinging to him to try to please him. I feel so safe when I'm with him and I want him to be happy. Maybe that is why? _These thoughts haunted me from then on until the night finally rolled around, beckoning me to sleep once again that day. I laid in my bed, breathless, still thinking about Ikuto. Did I really care for him, or was I just afraid of him?

If I kept him happy, he wouldn't hurt me, so that could be a cause for wanting to be with him when he's happy. But the way I felt about him was undeniable; how could the mind possibly twist fear and hatred into feelings of tenderness and affection? Nothing made sense anymore as I waited a painstakingly long time for sleep to take me from my misery.

These two thoughts fought violently in my head for the remainder of the night. Each time I thought one had the upper hand over the other, a new thought arose, one that contradicted the side I thought was winning. Part of me longed for Ikuto to join me in the bed and to take me into his protective arms where nothing could hurt me, but another part yearned for the familiarity of Tadase's arms. But of course, when I thought of Tadase, I began to believe the idea that this was a psychological issue more than ever.

Finally I opened my eyes to see bright sunshine filling my room. So I had managed to get some sleep after all? Was the war in my head all a dream? No, it felt too real. Of course, whatever it was, it carried it's dismal feeling with me in my head for the rest of the new day.

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><p><strong>Oh Stockholm Syndrome, with your many emotional reactions and confusions. I feel terrible about saying that because it was basically a summary of the chapter for those who may think Amu's just being a cry baby. I'm so terribly sorry to assume that you don't know about the psychological results of such a disease, but I have to clear up confusion. :3<strong>


	9. Chapter 9 Catch or be Caught

_Hmm, I've been absent for a very long time, haven't I? Oh well, my apologies, and on with the chapter and review gallery._

_65. The Panda Hat_

66. DarkChoclat

67. XxxPuppylove12xxX

68. Adimison2

69. IkutoTsukiyomi'sGirl

70. Animeluvr8497

71. Animeluvr8497

72. Animerockzzz

73. Laylaenchantix101

74. Ripplerose

75. aznpride16xx

76. aznpride16xx

77. aznpride16xx

78. aznpride16xx

79. aznpride16xx

80. aznpride16xx

81. aznpride16xx (Thank you for reviewing all the chapters!)

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><p>"Life sucks." I said for the hundredth time that morning as I sulked in a slump atop of my bed. "Why get dressed? Why brush my teeth? Why eat? Why try to escape?" Everything I had ever wanted was in front of me, but they were all <em>material <em>wants. Love, family, and freedom, my other wants, were gone, and life might be limited too. There was nothing to say or do, just sit in my bed lifelessly and complain, which was very out of character for me. I didn't feel like doing anything, and if I did feel like it, I wouldn't be allowed to do anything worth doing. That garden was beautiful, and I'd have loved to see it again, but that was impossible now.

"Rain sucks." I added to my ever growing list of things that sucked. Surely if it wasn't raining I'd be permitted to roam the garden, taking in the rejuvenating sunlight, the aroma of nature, and the feeling on my skin of the wind. Why were these things denied to me? Was it because I had enjoyed myself the day before? Was I being punished by some uncaused cause, or form of karmic revenge for being happy while being away from my life? It didn't seem fair. There were certainly dozens of things to do, but the more I considered my karma theory, the more I missed my family. I was becoming too friendly with Ikuto and Utau; too used to being pampered yet protected, guided yet directed. It went without saying that this was no ordinary case of kidnapping and that the usual 'escape at every attempt' way of thinking might have a reason to be canceled out, but I was unsure.

Ikuto was wonderful, though a terribly tempered man, and I was treated like a captive princess, but I yearned for my family, for my friends, and for Tadase. What were the odds I would return again? After the things I learned about this couple (whatever their relationship may be) how could they possibly let me go? It seemed so unlikely that I could not help despairing over these minimal odds.

Finally, with the utmost sense of fear one can feel, my escape was decided. But of course there was the trouble of the cameras, the locks, and my ignorance of location. Provided there wasn't a _constant _watch on the security feed, I could cover them with a light sheet. This would give the appearance of a malfunction, but the sheet would be transparent enough for the room to be moderately visible. With that idea coming so quickly to me I was reassured in my chances of fleeing and thought for many minutes about the trouble with the locks.

"Perhaps," I considered aloud, "my amiable attitude towards that maid, Noor, will provide me with the solution to the lock case. And after my being with Ikuto, the servants here will be a bit more lenient towards my wants." Leaping from my bed and dashing to the door, I banged incessantly on the stiff colorless wood to attract someone. Within minutes my calls were answered by a low voice.

"What is it, miss?" A male called out to me. I frowned; it wasn't Noor. But then again, what were the odds it would be?

"Would you please send Noor the maid over?" I inquired. Well, inquired wasn't the word. It was more of a command, but I had said it in such a friendly tone that he couldn't deny me.

"I'm awfully sorry, miss, but Noor is off today and tomorrow. She won't be back until Thursday." He answered in a genuinely regretful voice. I frowned from my side of the door, but my plan wasn't to be foiled yet. Thinking quickly on my feet I said-

"Oh, then would you send someone in with some transparent sheets?" There was silence for a few moments.

"May I ask why you need them?"

"Sewing, of course. I'm a rather accomplished woman, sir, and I know how to do many things, sewing among them." Was I speaking in a superior way on purpose? It just slipped out… I must have read Pride and Prejudice a few too many times the day before.

"Well… alright. I'll send someone in with them immediately." I waited impatiently for the familiar sound of the door being unlocked. When I finally heard it, a nervous shiver went up my person. What if this plan failed? I hadn't even remotely thought it out compared to how much I needed to. A tall, skin-and-bone type of woman came in. She appeared to be too dignified to work as a maid, but perhaps I misjudged her.

"Miss," She greeted, handing me the very transparent sheets. These would work perfectly! Delighted, I decided to play it by ear and lead her into the bathroom (which had locks on both sides). I frowned, considering how I would possibly get her into the bathroom without suspicions being raised.

"What is your name?" I asked in a superior tone. Ikuto had told the servants that I was a celebrity, so if this was going to work, I needed to start acting like one. Then again, if I could convince her that I was the missing girl… no, that must have been thought of. There's no doubt that they were told I'm some recovering crack addict, or possibly worse. Redirecting my thoughts to the moment at hand, I waited impatiently for her response.

"Eh… Haji…" She answered nervously. Haji? What a strange name.

"That's wonderful!" I exclaimed in mock-delight. I clasped my hands together and turned towards the bathroom. "Tell me, can you bring those sheets into the bathroom?" She eyed me warily.

"Garben said you wanted these for sewing." She said. Garben? Haji? These were not very good names. But then again, who am I to judge?

"A-are you questioning my reasons?" I demanded. She snapped out of her suspiciousness and staggered over to the bathroom. With a dutiful smile she dropped the sheets on the counter next to the sink and turned to me.

"Anything else?" It was obvious that she didn't want to do anything else, she was just asking because she knew she had to. I felt bad about what I was about to do, but I felt I needed to. Where did I stand with Ikuto? If I didn't figure that out soon, my urge to escape might lessen. I already longed to be with him, and I both feared and admired him, but I needed to be with Tadase. That was the only thing that kept me sane.

"Yes, would you start me a bath?" I said as innocently as possible. Finally her guard was down and she trusted me enough to turn her back on me. As soon as she was on her knees starting the water, I yanked the pass key from her pocket, threw her into the tub, closed the door and locked it. Then I piled some easily movable pieces of furniture up against the door, just for good measure. I could hear her clambering to get out of the tub and I knew I didn't have much time. My idea of using the sheets over the cameras was now down the drain, so I just made a B-line for the door, unlocked it, and darted down the hallway to the backyard. No one was following me yet, but I didn't dare slow down, no matter how badly my torso hurt. I cursed under my breath for not considering doing stretches before I began this crazy attempt.

The gardens were as breath-taking as the last time I had seen them, but as I ran I slowly became aware that it was still raining. Great, that's just what I need; running in sodden clothes, probably contracting some illness, while I search desperately for help that may not exist. Stopping, or slowing down for that matter, to find something to use as a sort of umbrella was out of the question, so I pressed on, ignoring the downpour. Remembering the iron gates that I had seen last time, I decided that would be a good place to start. But of course, just running to the closest gate and attempting to make it over in time would not keep me safe. With that in mind, I dashed into a tree-heavy area and, once satisfied with my position, began climbing the easiest-looking tree. Once on an acceptable branch, I lowered myself down the gate, moving slowly but cautiously, until I was safely on the other side.

I then heard the distinct sound of a door slamming shut. What felt like an hour of running had only been a few minutes, and they were now on my tail. I decided, against all good judgment, to run into a small forest about twenty feet away and pray that my strength and determination would keep up until I was (more or less) safe. Despite panting heavily, I could hear the yelling for me. No voices I particularly recognized, but still, it was not a good thing to hear. I had been resting against a thick tree but now it was time to walk again. Walking through the forest was out of the question so I walked to the right yet again to get out of it. Once free from the momentary cover, I jogged straight ahead, keeping to the edge of the forest, hoping desperately to find something. Anything, really. A person, an animal, a lake, _something _that I could use to find my way to a phone. I didn't have much time, but the time for doubts was over. This was my last chance to escape and I wasn't going to fail.

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

Ikuto -

"Yet another day of research," Ikuto mumbled to himself as he scanned his computer screen. It was becoming tedious to do this every day when he had much more important things to do. Things pertaining to his house, his servants, Utau, and Amu. "Aaaa-muuu." He said, testing her name on his lips. It felt nice. He wanted to go visit her, but Utau had made it very clear what he had to do if he wanted to get out of this ordeal without going to jail. With another deep sigh he went back to work on his computer. His phone rang then, which he welcomed happily as a distraction. It was from one of his servants; one who he had put in charge of the floor Amu was on. _Maybe she's asking for me… _He considered.

"Garben? Yes, what is it?" He asked absentmindedly. He wasn't really paying attention to anything Garben had said for the next few minutes until:

"-and then she escaped out the back door and we can't find her!" Ikuto didn't think, he didn't breath, he didn't even attempt to speak. Without a word he closed his phone, stood up, and walked slowly to the backdoor. Garben was waiting there for him anxiously, unsure whether he should continue his search for the girl or wait for Ikuto. Lucky, he didn't have to make that decision.

"And you say no one has found her yet?" Garben nodded. "How long since she's been gone."

"A-about… ten minutes…" he stuttered. Master Ikuto didn't know the particulars of how she escaped yet, but Garben was partially responsible for it. Ikuto squeezed his eyes shut, an angry, desperate feeling now in his stomach.

_Ten minutes… she could be anywhere by now… _He realized, shock overwhelming his ability to speak aloud. _She could find someone… call someone… be back with her family in a matter of hours. And when she's safe, she'll send someone for us. We'll have to leave. No- we have to find her at all costs. _Breaking free of his inability to move, he stood up straight and scowled at the servant.

"Our celebrity friend is a danger to herself and everyone around her. I want everyone in this house to go find her immediately. No questions, no calling the police or outside help. Just go find her." Garben nodded again and pulled out his phone. He began calling all the staff and then dashed out to help with the search.

_Who knows where she is by now? I only have a few more minutes until she's completely gone! This is my last chance to find her, and I'm not going to fail._


	10. Chapter 10 Silence is Golden

_Before I let you read, I'd just like to thank you for visiting this story, whether you're here to read, skim, or laugh at. Believe it or not, my humble little story managed to achieve nearly **400 **visitors last month (just 3 short) and **1,500** hits! I don't know what to say to this except that when I read it, I actually said out loud "Hooooooly shizno." I am so very grateful to learn this, but possibly even more shocked. I can no longer say that unless I get reviews I feel as though no one is reading, because this is evidently not the case. So, to you who do not review but still read, skim, or whatever, here's a nice, warm thank you. Although, that doesn't mean I'm not going to thank those who do review as well:_

_82. aznpride16xx (that's a wonderful question that I hope to answer once I've finished the story. I hope you'll be satisfied with my answer. :] )_

_83. ThePandaHat_

_84. Remembering Alice (Very sorry to have disappeared, but I believe I'm back in the swing of things. Thank you for your continuous reviews, it's delightful to hear from you. You make me laugh every time! XD )_

_85. Ripplerose_

_86. xXChirushiXx (Oh, you don't like cliffhangers? I'm not sure if this is a cliffhanger, it might be. Sorry if it is! XD )_

_87. IkutoTsukiyomi'sGirl (Your review really inspired a lot of explaining in this chapter. When I read it, I had to decide whether or not to let you in on Ikuto/Utau's plan BEFORE the ending. I chose to let you [in this chapter] because it really needed to be explained for you guys to get what's going on. So, in a sense, this chapter was inspired by you. I hope you like it!)_

_88. Tsukiyo Miku (Thank you for the kind words, they make me feel wonderful! I'll try to send those wonderful feelings back with a story worthy of readers like you!)_

_89. XxStefiexX (No I haven't read that particular book, but I'll look into it if you think it's good. And, I'll bet you didn't know this, but your review partially inspired this chapter, as well as future chapters. I thrive on advice like yours and IkutoTsukiyomisGirl's, because they help me stay on track and remember where I'm going with this chapter. I really took what you said to heart and I'm going to remember to portray their emotions more like this [which I had always planned to do, but you reminded me BIG TIME] in oncoming chapters. Thank you for reading and your review!)_

_90. Isatel_

_91. UltimateChocoholic (I think we BOTH love Amuto XD )_

_92. animeluvr8497 (Hmm, I never thought too much about what happened to the maid... now it almost seems mean that I had Amu push her into the tub! ^_^ )_

_93. Chulusempai18 (Will do, thanks for the advice and review! :] )_

_94. middnite butterflie (Here you go, this is for you!)_

_95. midnite butterflie_

_(I had some extra time so I figured I'd write out a few more personal review messages than before. To those it doesn't apply to, I hope it didn't bother you to have to scroll down past it all.)_

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><p>Amu dashed through the forest, running as fast as her slim, feminine legs could carry her. She had been caught off guard and was now as frightened as a deer being hunted in the forest. In fact, that was <em>exactly <em>the case. She had been resting against the trunk of a very thick tree when she heard a crunch noise coming from a few feet away. She hesitated and considered running at that moment, but she had been on her feet for several hours already and knew she needed a break. A few moments later, two crunches, followed by a muffled whisper. Amu's heart stopped. In seconds she was fleeing from the scene with her pursuer at her heels. He called a few names as he chased her, one being Utua. Amu knew she couldn't outrun a fully-grown man with back up on the way, so her only option was to resort to trickery.

_No, I'll trick the others. I need to delay this guy_. Amu abruptly turned to the right, lowering her head just enough to pass under a low branch. But the man following her was much taller and could not react as quickly, and he soon found himself on the ground. He called again the other two names, though Amu did not stay long enough to hear what else was said.

She felt utterly helpless as she ran madly through the forest, her heart going faster than her legs, as she watched for any signs of the back-up. Amu knew that tricking them would be harder than just planting a phony trail. They weren't adroit hunters, so they would not be looking for subtle signs of a change of direction. She would need to do the least expected thing and go in the least expected direction, but maybe that was what they were expecting her to do? So she would need to go in the most obvious direction, but that could possibly be the reason for her to get caught.

Frantic with a combination of fear, worry, and anxiety, Amu allowed her mind to rest and took off in any random direction. She was astonished that her body permitted her to continue walking/jogging/running for hours straight, but she knew not to push her luck. She could feel her throat becoming drier and drier and she was well aware that if she didn't find help soon, she herself might not be found.

Silence is golden. To Amu it meant another moment safe from her captors, another moment of freedom, and possibly another moment of life. Despite her worried and exasperated state, she took comfort in the serene silence around her. She allowed herself to rest after running for an hour straight. Her lungs worked to recover from the strenuous exercise while her rasped throat begged for air. It had been over six hours since she had left the mansion, and each moment of freedom was as blissful and frightening as the last. The seemingly never ending forest continued to stretch around her. A pang of fear entered her mind at that moment; _what if I never find help?_

She had gone in so many circles and zigzags that the possibility of returning to the mansion was impossible. After half a days running, she had expected to find a road or a pay phone or any sign of another human being, but she only ever saw trees. Not even a stream or a lake to drink from appeared. Amu then became aware that she hadn't eaten or drank anything since early in the morning, and there was no telling when she might eat or drink again, Suddenly, the silence was not as comforting as before.

A few more hours passed. Hours of walking, stopping, searching for water or people, and listening for Utau. She noticed that the chill of the night air had descended. She was dressed fairly warmly, but if she did not find a suitable place to sleep, her clothing would not be enough to keep her warm. Amu had walked for hours through the hot sun, but as it slowly became night, she would begin traveling in the bone-chilling cold. Now the final sun light of day had disappeared, and she was vaguely aware that it was getting darker by the second. A combination of dehydration and lack of energy made her slightly delusional, and her vision was often plagued by strange mirages. Occasionally Tadase or her family, but mostly of Ikuto.

"Ikuto...!" She had called out once as she reached for him. But her hand closed around air and she tumbled to the ground, scraping her knee and wrists. At that moment she was prepared to sleep on the forest-floor, cushioned by rotting leaves, and rest her mind and body, but in the distance, she could make out the distinct shape of a small cottage and a large lake.

Ikuto-

Ikuto tapped his fingers anxiously on his mahogany desk, looking desperately about the room as if a rabbit caught in a trap. Utau entered the room moments later, two bowls of hot soup in her hands and completely covered in mud. Ikuto shot her a pleading look but she ignored him.

"Dinner?" She asked, though she wasn't going to let him not eat. He looked her up and down disapprovingly.

"You're getting mud in my office." He said with a bit of anger in his voice. Utau shook her head.

"Don't blame me. Blame that little brat who, as we now know, can haul butt for hours at a time. Eventually we gave up on trying to catch her and just set up traps and cameras." She explained as she served him his dinner. He stared at her in disbelief.

"Traps? As in traps that will swing her into trees or clamp around her foot? Utau she's not an animal! She's out in the forest and you're going to _kill_her!" Utau merely rolled her eyes as she plopped the spoons into the soup and sat down to eat.

"Honestly Ikuto, you're kind of annoying. We didn't do things like that. We just found ways to know where she was. That way we can track her." Now calmed, the two siblings sat in silence eating their soup. Once they were finished, one of the butlers brought in desert; a pineapple turn-over cake. They ate again in silence, each consumed with their own thoughts. But after a while, Ikuto could not stand it.

"I'm going to look for her." He said abruptly, rising from his desk and reaching for his coat. Utau calmly latched onto his wrist, not releasing until she finished her dessert.

"No." She said, just as calmly as she had been when she grabbed him.

"Don't understand? She will find help! Or worse! She could die!" Utau almost wanted to laugh at her brother's impatient and worried manner.

"The forest goes on for miles in all directions, Ikuto. I don't care how much she runs or for how long; there is absolutely no way for her to get out. We _will_ find her before the morning."

"And how do you know that?" Ikuto asked skeptically.

"Because there's one of her in a big forest she isn't familiar with, while there are dozens of us who know every inch of that forest. Besides, while she's sleeping in a tree or under a bush, we're searching. She won't get out, I promise." Somewhat calmed, the two returned to silence. They didn't mind the silence; in fact, it was almost their way of bonding. Their relationship was a bit unorthodox but they truly felt the only two people in the world they could rely on were the other.

"I suppose now would be a good time to talk about..." Ikuto began with clear hesitation. Utau grimaced.

"If we don't do this right then we might as well not do it at all." Her brother nodded in agreement.

"So what's the plan? How are we going to inflict Stockholm syndrome on Amu?" He asked solemnly, not pleased with the idea. But he knew the only way to keep Amu alive and keep himself out of prison was Utau's plan.

"Well, when we find her again, you need to resume being abusive to her. You have to be convincing too. Make her think that any cruel thing you DONT do is a gift. When we find her again well lock her in the basement for a while. That's when you'll really affect her." Utau explained. She did not like the girl who had accidentally earned all her brothers attention, but she had to keep her bother safe anyways.

"Cruel?" Ikuto questioned, giving her the same pleading look as when she had come in.

"Cruel." Utau affirmed. "This girl is like a stray dog. She won't trust you right away no matter how much you pamper her. You must train her to obey and rely on you. When we put her in the basement, only you will bring her food or water, or a game to play or an extra blanket to sleep with. She will begin to associate you with things that she likes and needs. You will hurt her so that she believes whenever you _don't_hurt her you are doing her a kindness. That way, when we release her back to her family, she will want to protect you. She will hide you and tell everyone she knows nothing about you. If you stick to my plan, you wont go to prison for the rest of your life." Ikuto couldn't deny that Utau had thought everything through quite well. But something still felt wrong.

The idea of hurting Amu, of forcing a mental issue on her, seemed repugnant. He saw her in his mind, innocent and helpless. He was the heartless murderer standing over her and her family, prepared to murder them for the sake of covering his tracks. He would hurt Amu, both mentally and physically, and it was painful for him just to imagine it. He was growing attached to her and he knew that the pain he felt at that moment wasn't only because Amu might find help.

It might also have been, Ikuto decided, that he hated the though of not seeing her again. Utau noticed her brothers pained expression and recognized his look of serious thought with a great personal curiosity. When she questioned him as to the subject of his thoughts, he took a moment to break from his Trans.

"Just that we have too many servants. Can it be safe?" Utau was almost sure that he had just lied, but he had looked so grim that she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

"Ikuto, you know the answer to that. Just because the stupid girl doesn't recognize me as famous singer Utau Hoshina doesn't mean the rest of the world doesn't. Every servant in the house knows that you're my 'fiancé'. That way they don't have questions about you, they think they cannot speak about their jobs because I'm a celebrity who admires her privacy, and we don't have any past connections the public could find out about. I had everything thought out until you brought in _her_," Utau said this with venom on her tongue. "but thanks to my amazing plans it all worked out. The only little snag is that it would all crumble if she recognized me. For now she doesn't, so we're taking that advantage and I'm not going to let her see me anymore. Relax Ikuto, it is all under control." Ikuto was content with this answer. He knew that almost every scenario was accounted for and that he was safe.

He felt something strange inside of him though, something he had never expected to feel when he thought of Amu. He was afraid, at that moment, not for his safety, but for Amu's.


	11. Chapter 11 Hope is a Hopeless Thing

_So some of you may have noticed that I've been absent for a while and I'm very sorry about that. I lost the ability to log on due to some issues with my memory (Long story short, I forgot all my information to get on) but I've returned. Hopefully I'll be updating periodically again. Please try to forgive if this was a problem. :)_

_96. ThePandaHat  
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_97. AznPride16xx - Thank you for your kind words. They mean a lot. I wouldn't consider it genius (in fact, if you look all over Fanfiction, there's a lot of stories titled Stockholm Syndrome. Thankfully I'm the first in the Shugo Chara! section) but it was nice of you to say none-the-less.  
><em>

_98. ChuluSempai18 - Your hatred for Utau in chapter 10 was very endearing. Good work!  
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_99. Madin456 - You have an excellent ability of predicting foreshadowing! ;)  
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_100. xXChirushiXx - The 100th reviewer! Thank you so much for reviewing consistently and for being the luckk #100  
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_101. Amuto FAN_

_102. Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Girl_

_103. DarkFaerie0_

_104. XxNekoHentaixX - That's very nice of you to say =)  
><em>

_105. SukiLoveHappyDays3_

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><p>Amu crawled impatiently into the cabin. Her legs ached and her stomach grumbled but she pressed on with the thought of help. The cabin couldn't have been much bigger than a shack. Despite being completely vacated and it being a bitter cold night, she felt calm and surreal. The cabin was split into sections to mimic a house layout. In one corner, a sad looking bed that had very likely been hand-crafted was pushed against a chest of drawers. In another, a hearth with the dying remains of a log crackled weakly. Two wobbly-looking chairs faced the hearth.<p>

Taking up two corners was the kitchenette; a wood-burning stove, a refrigerator with a lock (though there wasn't any electricity keeping it cold), a few wooden counters and a make-shift sink. Cutting the hut down the middle was a table with one chair. There was only one window and one door. And yet, despite the lack of warmth and protection from her pursuers, she felt safer than she had in a long time.

There was no sign that the cabin was recently inhabited. The dying fire could have easily been 6 hours old. Inside the chest of drawers were men clothes. Amu was afraid of the mysterious man who might come back at any moment but she couldn't think of anything to do but stay. Suddenly her senses tingled. _It's a trap! Get out! _They urged. Her body ignored the pleas. Amu stripped and re-dressed in the man clothes. Without even thinking about it she dropped into the bed. The blankets were thin and the pillow was flat, but she made do.

Amu woke every hour. She would check for someone from the mansion, look for food around the cabin, and go back to sleep. When it was finally bright enough out for her to leave she began packing. One pair of very large clothes was wrapped around her waist. She pried her near numb fingers at the lock on the fridge. Inside were a box of cereal and a bag of chex-mix. Amu felt bad about taking the food. It obviously belonged to someone but she definitely needed it more. She gingerly took the food and chowed down. With her stomach relatively full and a change of clothes on her person, she prepared to leave. She thought about writing a note for the owner of the cabin but couldn't find any paper.

Next on the agenda were a bathroom break and a drink. As Amu walked out of the cabin she was overwhelmed by the subtle beauty of the land. A vast, sparkling lake stood still before her. The water was completely unmoving, except for a few ripples that resulted from the occasional duck. It invited her to come in and relax a bit. It was dawn; who would find her because of a 10 minute bath? Could there be any serious consequences if she gave herself a few more moments of rest? A mallard came into sight just then. It approached her warily, almost asking if she had any bread for him.

"Fresh out." She responded, gesturing to the cabin. It quacked a few times before retreating to the center of the lake. A bath in the lake was looking less and less tempting every minute. Amu would probably come out less clean than when she had gone in anyways. Getting a drink from the lake didn't seem probable either. Amu had always been taught that sitting water developed germs and diseases and was best left untouched. But she was so thirsty and the water looked so delicious.

_Well, it appears clean, and the ducks seem to like it… _she reasoned. Finally she gave in to her thirst and drank as much as she could. It had a slimy, dirt-like after taste but she couldn't stop. To her great relief there was an outhouse beside the hut. Using it was uncomfortable to say the least. When she was done she began walking through the forest again.

It didn't take long for Amu to become sick. In fact, it was only about a half hour before she vomited her first time. She managed to vomit on a tree rather than all over herself, but that really didn't make her feel much better. The second time she heaved over a bush which she suspected was poison ivy. Despite just barfing up her only nutrition, Amu pressed on. The woods started to look blurry again. Her balance came and went, but after two hours of walking it finally stayed away.

"So in a nutshell, I'm near blind, dizzy, just lost my breakfast, and I'm ill." She moaned. And as if on queue, she vomited again, this time all over her feet. As repulsed as she was, all she could think about was walking. Walking brought help and food. It could mean the end of her escape attempts. Walking meant _home_. Amu's body wobbled and her vision blurred further but she managed to continue at a slow pace. Just when she thought her stomach was empty and she had nothing left to vomit, she began dry-heaving. It was possibly the most terrifying event of the day.

"Just a few more minutes…" she told herself as she propped herself up. And she was right, because in a few minutes she no longer _could_ walk. Amu's vomit soaked feet made movement difficult enough. She wasn't sure why her balance had gotten worse for the past few feet until she noticed one of her shoes was gone. Turning around to fetch it, her foot slipped in a root and she plummeted to the ground. She couldn't react in time due to her disoriented state and she slammed her head on the ground. After being on the forest floor for a few minutes she lifted herself to see the damage. Her right ankle throbbed and was beginning to swell. A pebble clung to Amu's forehead and when she pulled it out blood began to spurt out. Frantically she held her hands to it to try to stop the flow.

She cried without hesitation as her whole body began to ache. Would she die here? Would Ikuto get off without being caught because she died and he wasn't the cause? Her mind was almost as damaged as her body. It tried desperately to comprehend the situation but it only gave her a bigger head ache. Amu wasn't sure what was scarier- the idea that someone was close to finding her or the idea that they weren't.

"Tadase! T-Tadase!" the woman shouted over the crowd. Tadase smiled at her and she came forward. "Any word on finding Amu?" Tadase shook his head dolefully.

"Possibly. There might be a new lead, but it's not very reliable. A man supposedly saw a blue-haired male put a young girl into his car and drive away. The type of car hasn't been identified yet, but the witness says it looked very expensive. They went South. That's all that we know right now." He answered. The crowd of reporters erupted again. This time Rima chose someone.

"Rima, how are you handling the loss of your best friend?" Rima stared at him indignantly.

"She's not dead."

"Of course not. I was referring to her tragic absence in your life." Apparently the clarification pleased Rima, because she answered his original question.

"I miss her every moment. I spend a lot of my time volunteering at the police station and helping them follow up on leads. Basically I do a lot of phone work, but whatever helps her get found, right? I also spend a lot of time with Tadase." At this the crowd went silent. Both Tadase and Rima realized what she had said at the exact same time.

"By which Rima means-"

"That you've gotten over Amu and have fallen for each other?"

"That you've accepted that Amu may never come back and you want to be together?"

"No! We spend a lot of time together because that's the only thing that calms us down. Tadase made Amu happy so I'm happy to be around him." The reporters became quiet. The policeman then said he would take all further questions and Rima's mother ushered the two from the scene. They walked in silence to the car.

"Rima, when do you think they'll find Amu?" Tadase asked quietly as the car began to move.

"I'm not sure that they will. She's an attractive young adult who's been kidnapped. It's been a few weeks. What are the odds she's alive?" The words struck Tadase hard. He had considered this, heck, he had practically accepted it, but hearing them from Rima made it all seem so real. Rima was the optimistic one; she could believe Amu was alive even if they found a bloody lock of her hair. For her to verbally recognize that Amu might be dead was almost too much.

"There's a chance." Tadase said without much hope in his voice.

"And if she's alive, we'll find her. I didn't tell anybody Tadase, but we're going to go talk to the druggie who saw Amu being kidnapped. My moms driving us right now." Tadase looked at her in total disbelief. What could they learn from him the police didn't? What information would he be able to give them that the police didn't already have? Rima seemed to read his mind.

"He's a drug-abuser, Tadase. He would want to get the police away from him as soon as possible, so why would he tell them anything? He'll feel a lot more comfortable with two kids than a bunch of nosy cops." Tadase couldn't help but feel that maybe Rima was right. And if she wasn't, what did they lose?

"Okay, we'll go talk to this guy. Maybe he can tell us something to help us find Amu."


	12. Chapter 12 Progress Cannot be Made

**Hello there. If you've made it this far, you're either skimming or genuinely intrigued. Either way, welcome to chapter 12. I know you guys are probably use to me updating once every few months, and I can never apologize enough for that, so that's why I'm updating twice in the same month! Of course, I really should update more than that... Oh well, onto the reviewer's gallery!**

**106. The Panda Hat**

**107. aznpride16xx - I really wasn't hinting that they are a couple. They're just friends! XD Unless... in my almighty author-ness, I decide to make this also... what's the combination for Rima and Tadase? Oh well. Thanks for the review!**

**108. MidnightRedMasquerade - Wow! Thank you so very much for your review! It made me smile. Unfortunately, I do not write lemons, so that is out of the picture. Your enthusiastic review was much appreciated and very kind. If I believed in Karma, I'd say some good Karma was coming your way.**

**109. Ninja-bunny08 **

**110. XxChirushixX **

**111. madin456**

**112. cocopops3000 - Ah yes~ I'm so very sorry for the many errors I've found upon reviewing my chapters. My readers have been very patient with me and I am working to make things more understandable. Thank you so very much for taking the time to review.**

**113. forgottendreams brokenheart**

**114. .Cleopatra - I want you to know that you genuinely made my day. I wish I could give you a special shout-out. I mean, better than this. I don't know. Your generous compliments were unearned, but I thank you anyways. I sincerely hope that all further chapters meet your expectations. And, yet again, I thank you earnestly. Also, Three Hearts One Broken was a terrible story and I can recognize this. I believe I've come a long way since then.  
><strong>

**So a quick little fact (that most of you won't bother reading), this is technically my highest reviewed story. My actual highest reviewed is in the 160's but it has twice as many chapters. So you guys have technically beat it. Let's see if I can beat The Bonds Of Trust by the end of this book!**

* * *

><p><em>Xx Ikuto xX<em>

It took minutes, no, _moments_ for the whole mansion to be in a frenzy. 'We've found her!', 'Should we send someone out to find her?', 'Is she okay?" Ikuto was tired of hearing it. He slammed the door to his office shut and waited impatiently for the report from one of his servants.

"Everyone is saying they've found her. Did you really? Where is she? Is she okay?" He questioned. It was clear he was frantic. The servant nervously tapped his fingers against his thighs as he waited for his master to calm down.

"Well sir, as you requested, we installed video cameras in the cottage down in the woods. You dismissed us a bit early last night so we just got the feed from the cameras this morning. It seems she spent the night in the cottage and left early in the morning. We don't know what direction she went, but we do have a general area she could potentially be in. It really all depends on how fast she moves." Ikuto nodded and dismissed his servant. The man was hesitant to leave; shouldn't he be told what to do about this information? Was he supposed to send people out to fetch her or await orders? Finally he decided to stand outside the door.

Ikuto covered his face with his hands. The gut-wrenching feeling he could not seem to rid himself of had made another appearance. Only one thing retained his thoughts for more than a few minutes now. Amu. Questions whirled about in his mind as he tried to think straight unsuccessfully. Where was she? Was she okay? Was she even alive? Who would be the one to find her? Would she be scared? He had to stop himself there before he became any more upset. _He_ needed to be the first person she saw. _He_ needed to bring her home.

Unwilling to wait any longer, Ikuto called his servant back into the room. The two grabbed their jackets and dashed out in the chilly morning weather. They rode on ATV's through the forest in search of the cabin. Once it was found, over a dozen servants set out on foot in different directions to locate Amu. Ikuto gave them very strict instructions:

"Search quietly. If you spot her, back away slowly and find me. Do not let her see or hear you. Anyone who disobeys these orders will be fired." He said solemnly, eyeing each individual servant. Without further hesitation he dismissed the servants and waited inside the cabin for one of them to return.

Naturally, time passed. Doesn't it always? Ikuto continued to wait in the cabin as he searched for any clue Amu might have left. Besides the un-made bed and missing pair of clothes, nothing had changed. She could have gone anywhere. Silence enveloped Ikuto as he considered what would happen when Amu was found. She'd be returned to the mansion and Utau's plan would take action. He would force Stockholm syndrome on her.

_It's not like she doesn't already have it._ He thought to himself. She had shown many signs of it already. Unfortunately it just wasn't strong enough to keep him out of prison. Now he would have to torment her unendingly and Amu would hate him for it. She wouldn't appreciate everything he had done for her when she was no longer mentally stable. She wouldn't care that he spent hours of the day planning how to get her home. When she would be able to leave, what would be the best time of day to take her, how he would drop her off without being seen… she wouldn't care about any of it. He wanted to say she would hate him for everything he had done, but in all honesty, he knew that wouldn't be the case. He knew that she would love him for every evil thing he had done.

"Sir, I found her!" A man shouted, breaking Ikuto from his stupor. He followed his servant through the woods, paying careful attention to remaining quiet. When he approached her, he was unable to breath. Something was in his throat; his heart maybe? He was taken aback at the gruesome sight of Amu. She lay slumped up against a tree, her whole body limp. Vomit soaked her legs and chest. Scratches and bruises covered every visible part of her body.

"What…what's wrong with her ankle?" The man asked mutedly as he pointed to her right ankle. It was twisted in an odd fashion and severely swollen. Ikuto's heart sank as he noticed her tear-soaked face. Just then, a jolt of electricity shot through his body.

_She's not moving_. His eyes shot to a leaf that seemed glued to her forehead. It was saturated with blood and more still oozed down her face.

"Get help!" Ikuto hissed as he ran to the broken girl. She had once been so beautiful, so full of life. And now she wasn't moving. He lifted her into his arms and checked her heart beat. It was faint, barely audible, but still there. He carried her back to the cabin as quickly as he could. Halfway there Amu opened her eyes for a moment. They were dull and filled with sadness and despair. When the two's eyes met, she almost seemed to smile before fading once again into oblivion.

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

"We have to! You have to mphpph." A female voice said, but the last part was muffled to Amu's injured ears.

"No, we can mhfhpfh! There's got to be another mmfpgfgh!" A male voice challenged. Amu had no idea what was going on. Her last memory was fainting in the forest. No… wait… her last memory seemed to be Ikuto for some reason. She took in a deep breath as she sat up.

"What's going on?" She demanded, tears rolling down her cheeks already. Upon noticing that Amu was awake, both Ikuto and Utau shot her icy glares and left the room.

Amu's eyes widened as a sense of panic slowly sank in. She was back at the mansion. Worse yet, she was in the basement again. Every part of her body ached and she had an overwhelming urge to cry again. Hours passed. Or maybe not? Amu had no way of knowing how much time passed anymore. She took the time she now had to look at her injuries. Someone had bathed her, most of her scratches were covered with band-aids, her ankle was wrapped up and her fore-head had been treated as well.

"I'm not going to die…" she whispered to herself, relief flooding over her person. _Yet. _

Traumatized by her escape attempt, Amu fell asleep several times that day. One of those times, Ikuto came in and woke her up. She looked up at him with innocent eyes, and he looked back at her with eyes as cold as frost.

"You're an idiot, Amu." He told her indifferently. She said nothing. "You're a moron and I shouldn't let you live a moment longer! Your life belongs to _me_ now, and don't you dare forget it!" He raised his voice considerably, causing Amu to cower into the couch.

"I'm so sorry, Ikuto…" she whispered, a mouse pleading with a cat.

"It would be easy to kill you. A well-placed punch, a knife, a gun; I'm not picky. Dead girls don't talk. Dead girls won't send me to prison. Keep that in mind." Amu wasn't sure what to say. Her throat was suddenly clogged and she could barely breathe. Immediately she broke out into coughing fits. Ikuto made no move towards her. He really didn't care.

"I-Ikuto… I… I'm so very sorry." Her apology was met with a slap to the face. She fell to the ground, her arms wrapped around herself as if she was trying to keep herself together. He did not respond to her tears. In place of a response, he left her to her solitude.

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

Rima and Tadase cautiously eyed the small house they were pulling in to. It was old and run-down and the lawn was not much better off. Dead trees plagued the lot and weeds choked all life from the few patches of grass.

"Maybe I should stay here with you two…" Rima's mother mumbled as she turned the car off.

"No mom, it's okay. We'll be fine." Rima assured her. Her mother wanted to stay more than anything; any normal mother would want to in this sort of situation. Who would willingly drop off their child at a druggie's house without any form of protection? But Rima was 18 and she didn't need to be babysat anymore.

"Well… alright. Just be careful." And with that she drove away, leaving Rima and Tadase to their task. Tadase took the lead and stood in front of Rima, just in case something bad happened. He knocked hesitantly on the door with rusted hinges.

"Who's there?" A gruff voice called from the inside.

"Um… Tadase Hotori and Rima Mashiro…" He answered, grabbing Rima's hand.

"I told you, I'm not talking to no more police! Get off my property or I'll shoot!" The man shouted.

"Please sir, we're not police officers!" Rima tried, knocking on the door. She was met with total silence for the next few minutes. Finally the door was opened. An over-weight, under-dressed man with a beer in his hands stared down at them with a stern frown.

"Then what do you want?" He asked as he took another gulp from the bottle. Rima was going to just come out and say it. She would tell him exactly why they were there and not beat around the bush. Tadase sensed this, though, and he spoke first.

"To exchange information." The man's interest was intrigued, so he invited the young-adults into his home. Just as suspected, it was as hideous on the inside as on the outside. Most of the furniture was worn-out and wine and beer bottles covered the floor.

"Okay kids, what do you want to know?" Tadase was timid about sitting on the couch. It didn't look very sturdy. But Rima needed a seat too so he decided to sit first, just to check it.

"You told the police about the pink haired girl, right?" Rima began. The man's eyes sparkled.

"So that's why you're here. I guess that makes you-" Hiccup. "the two worried friends? You've already gotten your information. I don't have any needs for yah."

"We're not dumb, sir. We want to save our friend and you didn't tell the police everything you know. If you just tell us what we want to know, we'll be on our way and completely out of your life." Tadase reasoned. He knew he was bargaining a lot with this wording, but if he wanted this drunkard's information, he needed to be stern. The man silently considered the terms.

"Alright." He piped up. "Ask away, kiddies." Rima and Tadase exchanged excited grins.

"For starters, what exactly did you see? We know about you seeing a blue-haired man put a girl into an expensive car. What else?" Tadase said, starting off an afternoon of questions.

"Hm…" He began, tapping his index finger to his bearded chin. "Ah! I recognized the car. A young lady with long blonde hair sometimes drives it past my house. She use to pass by every other day, but she hasn't in weeks. It's a right shame. That one was a pretty one."

"Do you by any chance know where she lived? Or where she went when she was passing your house?" Rima checked, her heart pounding. They had a clue. They might even find Amu. _If she's alive, _Rima reminded herself.

"Now that's a secret I think I'm gonna keep to myself, girlie." He smiled a wide grin at them with many missing teeth.

"What?" Rima demanded, standing from the decrepit couch irately. The man merely crossed his arms, content with having the upper hand.

"Rima, please calm down! Sir-"

"Ken." He corrected, still smiling.

"_Ken,_" Tadase amended. "What do we need to do to get more information out of you?" Ken smiled mischievously at the two young adults in his living room.

"I've got a bit of an odd-job for you…"


	13. Chapter 13 Leeway

**Somehow I got about 17 reviews since I last updated. That is... unexpected. Thank you for your continued kindness. This story has reached nearly 13,000 hits. I don't even know what to say. Except, thank you to everyone listed here, and all my silent readers.**

**115. .chan  
>116. Chulusempai18<br>117. Madin456  
>118. aznpride16xx<br>119. ThePandaHate  
>120. addimison2<br>121. AngelicCharm  
>122. KARONA- CHAN<br>123. MidnightWillowTree  
>124. CeruleanDreamCat<br>125. SailorVMoon1311815  
>126. Miyukichan23<br>127. Pastel  
>128 - 131. Kitty. 0<strong>

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><p>"I'm so alone. So desperately alone. And so afraid. So desperately afraid." Amu was so out of it that she didn't even realize she was thinking aloud. She merely sprawled herself out on the ground and patted the floor with her palm. "I miss Tadase. He… was kind." Her face was drenched with tears but she couldn't feel it anymore. "They'll find me one day. But Tadase won't love me anymore. Because I'm different. Not the same. Not the same." It took everything Ikuto had to sit in the doorway and listen to her talk to herself. She was going insane. And, technically, that's what he wanted. He wanted her to have a mental illness. Just not insanity.<p>

"Get up," he commanded with a curt voice. But she didn't. Normally the fear would have overtaken her so that she would obey without realizing it, but now, she didn't have the energy to care.

"Screw off." Ikuto wasn't even sure what to say to that. He hadn't ever seen this side of her before. Was this part of her descent into madness? "I'm gonna die anyways. I don't care anymore." Amu turned away from him and began stroking her forearm as if it were a baby she was lulling to sleep.

"Utau!"

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

The next three days were met with total and complete solitude. Amu received food once, a drink twice, but never while she was awake. The Tsukiyomi sibling's plan was risky but potentially effective. Either she was going to go absolutely crazy outside of being saved or she would go back to normal. The odds were not in their favor, but they themselves were going a little nuts with this mess.

Ikuto walked in, careful not to show the hesitation in his body language. Amu turned to see him standing there with a platter full of food.

"F-for… for me?" She checked, tears welling up in her eyes. Ikuto nodded and sat down on the floor, distributing the food onto plates.

"So, how have you been?" He asked nonchalantly as she shoveled food into her mouth. She smiled at him, gravy escaping her lips, and nearly burst into tears.

"Thank you so much! D-do… you need anything cleaned? I'm pretty good at it." Mentally, Ikuto was flogging himself. He had changed this sweet, innocent girl into an asylum patient.

"No, we have maids for that." He needed to be cold and inconsiderate, he reminded himself. Make her think every interaction is a gift.

"I'm so very sorry about how I acted a few days ago. It won't happen again. You know that, don't you?" She whispered, looking intently into his eyes.

"You're nothing to me."

A painful silence insued as Amu began eating again.

"Amu?"

"Yes?" She answered, eagerness overflowing in her voice. _He's speaking to me! I haven't angered him too much!_

"Does it get cold down here at night?" _No… no, no, no! If I don't express how grateful I am for a roof over my head and a couch to sleep on, he'll be upset! He'll make me sleep outside! I can't let that happen! I already lost my luxury bedroom!_

"No, it's wonderful down here! I love it! Thank you so much!" She jumped forward to embrace him but he coldly pushed her aside.

"Don't touch me again," he warned. She nodded vigorously, thankful that he hadn't harmed her seriously. _Does he realize how hard I'm trying for him? Does he know how much I love him?_

From then on, whenever Amu tried to speak, Ikuto would tell her to be quiet. Eventually she gave up on conversation and grew to be content with just his presence. But, after an hour, he stood up and went to leave.

"No! No, no! Please don't go, Ikuto! You can… you can do anything to me if you stay! Anything!" She stressed, unbuttoning the first button on her blouse to show she was serious. Ikuto thought about how despicable of a human being he would be if he accepted and decided to leave instead.

"I'm ugly…" Amu decided as she pressed herself against the couch. The pillows absorbed her tears nicely. "And not good enough for Ikuto. He doesn't need me." From there she cried and cried until she was empty of tears. That took longer than she thought it would.

"But why am I crying? Have I… changed? The Amu I thought I was wouldn't be sad about this. What is wrong with me?" But she couldn't get herself to stop loving Ikuto. He was everything to her, and had been ever since she first met him. She had tried to escape and ruined everything. It was _her _fault she was locked in the basement. She was a horrible person. Someone deserving of death. And Ikuto was kind enough to spare her.

"I love you, Ikuto!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "Please, love me back!"

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

"Utau, please! Let me get to know her! Let me… console her. Just let me interact with her!" Ikuto pleaded, practically on his hands and knees.

"Hey, you're a big boy. I think you can make your own decisions." Ikuto stared at her inquisitively upon this statement.

"What?" Disbelief filled his voice.

"I'm just trying to keep you safe. But maybe if you make her fall in love with you, -real love, mind you- she'll be even less likely to get us arrested. It could work. Just answer me this. How much do you care for her now?" Ikuto pondered over this for a minute, considering exactly how he felt. He weighed options, brooded over different scenarios, and eventually come to a rational conclusion.

"Less than love but more than like. I guess slightly under the affection family members feel for each other." Utau preferred these types of answers from her brother. Not silly romantic poetry; calculated answers.

"Okay. Then you can do as you please. But, honestly Ikuto, listen to me about one thing." He nodded, waiting for her to continue. "Don't rush it. Any emotions she has for you aren't _real._ She doesn't really return your feelings yet. You're going to get your heart broken if you try to love a crazy woman." Ikuto had been warned. Whether or not he listened was purely up to him.

A few hours later he visited Amu for the first time without sinister motives.

"Amu," he acknowledged as he sat down on the couch. Now he had a chance to actually get to know her, like he had in the garden. "Why don't you come sit down with me?" Amu was very hesitant, but in the end, she took a seat as far from him as possible. _How odd. Wasn't she screaming earlier that she loved me?_

Ikuto had a servant bring a television and DVD player in and Amu selected a movie. By the end of the movie, she was snuggled up against his chest.

"Ikuto?"

"Yes, Amu?"

"Do you hate me?" What a difficult question. Both yes and no had serious repercussions.

"I'm not entirely sure."

"Do you love me?"

"Same answer."

"Oh." A somewhat awkward silence followed. Amu could feel the heat emanating from Ikuto's body and she longed to be with him all the time. But then she might say something wrong and be punished. _I can't believe he's staying with me for so long. He's so kind! And he brought in a movie! On top of all of that, he hasn't hit me once. I must have done something right! But what did I do exactly? I'll need to do it again, whatever it is._

"How about you, Amu? Do you love me?" Amu nodded cheerily and snuggled a bit closer to her. "Why?" Before he could stop himself, he had said this. In fact, he just might have ruined all of his progress. Amu sat up immediately as she considered this.

"I don't know… why _do_ I love you?" Frantic, Ikuto needed to erase what he had done. If Amu thought about it too much, she might realize she didn't love him, and then all hope was lost. But what could he possibly do to remedy such an error? Without a second thought he crashed his lips against hers. She took no time in accepting the interaction and kissed him back. When they finally separated, Ikuto felt something new for Amu, but he wasn't sure what.

"Oh… wow. I hope I never get found!" Amu whispered, smiling and staring into his eyes. This innocent passing comment awoke a warning bell inside of Ikuto though.

"I need to go," he said coldly as he stood up to leave. After he was gone, another servant came in to get the television. Amu was beyond confused. What exactly had she said?

"I'm sorry, Ikuto. I failed again. I promise to never talk about anything outside of these walls again. In fact, I won't even think about things beyond this house!"

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><p><strong>I noticed in your reviews there were a lot of "Odd job? Ooh, what's that gonna be?" Well I decided to leave it out of this chapter, but you'll find out next time around.<br>You know, when I was writing this, I typed "shuvvled" instead of "shoveled" and I about died. Why? Because I am a grammar nazi. Never make spelling errors, kids.**


	14. Chapter 14 Disregarding Emotions

**Wow it's 2013! This chapter is long overdue. I guess I'm back from my hiatus! No word on if my other stories will be updated. I'd like to finish this one as it's nearing the end. Hello new readers. And if there's any old readers you have to tell me in a review or PM so I can give you a proper shout-out!**

**132. Pikapikaclouds  
>133. ThePandaHat<br>134. aznpride16xx  
>135. Queen Rima<br>136. Blue-Sub-Dominant  
>137. bunny nin<br>138. Madin456  
>139. addimison2<br>140-149. xMoonlight  
>150. Kitty.0<br>151. You say No  
>152. xCipiox<br>153. xMoonlight  
>154. KiyomiShizuru<br>155. MidnightWillowTree  
>156. HoshinoKaabii13<br>157-158. LiesxDissapointments13  
>159. Valkarious<br>160. GlamGurl17  
>161. YourBloodIsMyDrug<br>162-163. Angel Bunnies  
>164. Harmonic Bunny<br>165. Amuto3AnimeLover**

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><p>Rima somersaulted under a tree branch and jumped to her feet. Quickly shifting her body, she looked in all directions before moving forward. She tested a rock in front of her with her shoe to make sure it wouldn't explode before gesturing to Tadase that it was ok to move.<p>

"Rima… you're not a spy…" Tadase scolded. He ducked under the branch and pulled the rifle with him. It caught in the brush but with a few extra tugs he managed to return it to his side.

"Oh let me have this. I hate the idea of shooting a buck." Rima bounded forward, carefully maneuvering through the forest floor. Once free from the threat of tripping, she tied her hair into a ponytail while picking out the leaves and twigs.

"It's the buck or Amu. Who do you want to die?" Tadase's rhetorical question bounced off of Rima. She didn't even give it a second thought. Killing a deer was cruel, but if Ken would give them information that could save Amu, it was worth it. Without a doubt it was insane of Ken to ask this of two teenagers. Of course Ken was presumably on drugs and drunk more often than he was sober, so it was expected that he'd request something so ridiculous.

"I just think that if Ken wants a dead deer, he can do it himself," she barked. They marched forward, eyes peeled for any sign of movement through the thick brushwood. The forest was dimly lit, though sun did manage to escape through the canopy of branches in a few places.

"The man probably can't even get out of bed by himself. As far as I'm concerned, this isn't a bad job. What if he wanted us to bury bodies or something?" Rima scoffed mentally at Tadase's optimism. She also agreed with him though. However unorthodox of a request it was, it could have been much worse.

Before Rima could respond something snapped beyond the trees. The two wheeled around to look and, through a screen of branches, caught a flash of blurred movement. Breaking into a run, they hurdled fallen logs and ducked under low branches, chasing the blur until their lungs burned. The ground couldn't be trusted. It kept giving way, tripping them into knee-deep holes. Finally they abandoned the hopeless pursuit and sunk to the ground to catch their breath.

"We should have kept chasing," Tadase scolded, though he was too tired to even imagine running again.

"There's no guarantee that thing was even a buck." Rima pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. With closed eyes, she listened to the sounds of nature. There should have been a way to know if Amu was alright. Some sign to reassure them. But as she opened her eyes and focused on a random tree, she found the exact opposite.

"T-Tadase…" The overwhelming dread in Rima's voice caught Tadase's attention immediately. He snapped his head to the direction Rima was looking in and began to choke.

"Is that _blood_?" He gagged. Upon closer examination, the terrified friends found that both blood and vomit were dried onto the tree roots. Rima couldn't bear to stay another moment and tore through the foliage. She fought back tears as she realized what the discovery meant_._ Throughout Rima's life, she had only had a handful of friends. Among those, only one became her best friend. Only Amu had stuck with her through thick and thin. The thought of losing her was too much to bear. It was as if the wound she sustained when she first heard of Amu's disappearance had been ripped open and was gushing out fresh blood. Rima saw in her mind Amu cowered under the tree before her, losing blood and retching while she cried through the pain. She broke out into a cry of her own despite her best efforts to remain strong. Tadase carefully lowered the rifle to the ground and embraced the crestfallen blonde.

They sobbed in each other's arms for a few minutes before deciding what to do. Tadase held Rima close, gently rubbing her hand with his. He tried to whisper reassuring things to her, but none of them seemed to fit the situation. Instead he mused on his own feelings at the moment. Amu was his girlfriend and he loved her with every bit of his heart. He was not the disloyal type, but as more and more time passed, he became numb to the pain of losing Amu. Slowly but surely, he began to accept that she just might be gone forever.

A chilly wind blew through the two but the fire between their touch remained. Rima may have been oblivious to it, but everywhere their skin made contact burned into Tadase's mind. In an effort to remain faithful to the presumably dead Amu, Tadase broke away from the embrace.

"We need to go to the police with this. Even if it's not Amu, _someone _was bleeding there," Tadase said decisively. When he reached for the rifle to leave Rima snatched his hand away from it.

"Maaaybe not," Rima murmured, grabbing the rifle and putting it behind her back. "Ken isn't the most stable person. He's kind of a nut job. If he didn't want to tell the police something he knew, that means he's put his trust in us. He won't tell us _anything _if we involve the police. Maybe we should give him the buck first, get the information, and then tell someone about this." At first, Tadase didn't even consider her words. This was indisputably something the police needed to know about. Gradually though he decided to give it some thought.

It was probably correct that, if an authority were involved, Ken would withhold the information he promised. That seemed logically solid. Of course, the police could force him to cooperate and supply any evidence he had. But then Tadase had to consider the well-being of Amu. If she was still alive, how much time did she have? Which scenario would help her the most and the quickest?

"I'm just not sure, Rima. Both choices have a major downside." He nervously scratched his wrist as the anxiety attacked. The thought of Amu being kidnapped snapped at his skin, the tension between him and Rima burned, and his fear of making the wrong decision dug a hole in his heart. "I just can't decide."

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Ikuto anchored himself before the door to the basement. He tried several times to lift his hand to the door-handle. What was stopping him? He wanted to see her but his body refused to move. Again he tried to open the door. Again he failed. With feelings of self-loathing he had never before experienced, he abandoned the endeavor and returned to his bedroom.

The following morning he found himself before the door again, carrying a bottle of soda and an apple. This time he would open it. This time he would see Amu. But deep within his soul he felt the pangs of confliction that had haunted him for so long. The feelings he held for Amu were so real but he was supposed to ignore them.

_Utau gave me permission to do as I want. She thinks the plan is far enough along that getting to know Amu won't ruin it. _He reassured himself of this several times before the conflicting tugs in his gut went away. They returned with a vengeance though, this time leaving him to wonder if she could ever _truly _love him. By inflicting a mental illness on her he had lost any hope of her having legitimate feelings for him. Ikuto sighed deeply and finally opened the door.

His beloved captive was resting wearily against a wall. Dark circles tugged at her eyes. Clearly she hadn't slept all night. Without a moment's hesitation he set the gifts on the floor, lifted her up into his arms, and embraced her. Her reaction was exactly as he had predicted. First fear, then an uncomfortable stiffness, and then a warm returning hug. She nestled her face into his chest and he kissed the top of her head.

A new sense of sympathy roused within him. He had been utterly immobilized by his conflicting feelings for her. As he held her in his arms he realized she felt the same way.

"Amu," he murmured gently.

"Yes?"

"You know what we haven't done in a while?"

"No."

"Gone for a walk in the garden."

He was met with a very powerful silence. He could sense she was reliving her last escape attempt. Her whole body trembled.

"Or instead," he offered up quickly, "we could go swimming." Ikuto mentally patted himself on the back for the suggestion. Swimming would be a good bonding activity and provide her with means of exercise. He had already decided to send Utau out to buy a bathing suit in Amu's size when she whispered a response.

"I can't."

"Why not?" he pried, somewhat offended.

"My ankle…" Ikuto began to realize why Utau never let him speak or act according to his own will.

"Of course." Feeling insensitive and idiotic, Ikuto lightly pushed Amu from him and turned for the door. Again he offended Amu. Again he said or did something so unkind that he hated himself for it. And again she would chase after him and beg him to stay.

"No!" She called as she dashed forward to grab his hand with her own. "I haven't seen you in so long and I'm so tired! Won't you just stay while I nap?" Who was this girl before Ikuto? The woman he had kidnapped was headstrong and proud. She would not have begged for his company. He had reduced her to a child. Ikuto was certain he was the scummiest human on earth. He wanted to leave the room and never come back so he wouldn't have to acknowledge that he had destroyed this beautiful woman. He stayed though. The realization that she was in as much mental turmoil as he was softened him a bit. He decided to indulge her. In reality he was indulging himself by cuddling with this soft woman on the creaky couch. The deep feelings of conflict festered more with every passing minute he held Amu against his chest in a protective embrace. He decided to ignore them.


End file.
